


A Civil Dispute

by firefly_quill



Series: We're all Lawyers now [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Lawyers, Drama & Romance, M/M, mentions of past (and brief) McGenji - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2018-12-09 16:06:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11672487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firefly_quill/pseuds/firefly_quill
Summary: Hanzo Shimada, former partner at Amari & Morrison, has returned to LA after a 3 year absence. His friends and family are determined to make him stay. Akande Ogundimu has the same goal. But does the Talon lawyer want Hanzo for his firm, or for himself?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone,
> 
> I wanted to take a different angle on Talon's desire to recruit Hanzo, and this story was the result. I'm really enjoying the way Doomfist plays against the other characters: the dynamic has been fun to write. Unbeta'd: apologies for any errors! 
> 
> Just a few notes that I won't be explaining in the story:  
> Amari, Morrison, Reyes & Shimada (currently only Amari & Morrison) is a law firm, given the nickname “Overwatch” because of their penchant for only taking cases that aligned with their ethics. They often “watch over” the less fortunate. Their remarkable wins in these cases brought them higher profile work, which has led to their greater success. 
> 
> Ogundimu, Reyes & Lacroix gained the nickname “Talon” after their victory in a case they very well should have lost against a bird sanctuary that eventually had to be shut down. Newspapers reported that the firm had their “talons” in something something predator bird v. poor bird conservationists (...it's a stretch, I know). 
> 
> Thanks for reading! I would love to hear your thoughts.
> 
>  **Edit:** I've been told that my tagging has made this story appear in the McGenji relationship filter, and I apologize for this oversight! I've moved the tag to try to stop this. Let me know if there's anything else I can do. This story is a McHanzo story, and there is no McGenji content other than a past reference.

“Yo, Lena, I need that trace from ‘Meyer v. Castro’!” Genji called from across the office. 

“You got it, Gen!” Lena chirped as she raced for the paper files. 

“Not before she gets what I asked for this morning!” Morrison stuck his head out from his office to grumble. 

It was another hectic, overworked, understaffed day at Amari & Morrison, and while Jesse still maintained that he would have it no other way, he found the idea less convincing recently. 

Pushing the thought from him mind, he concentrated instead on trying to secure some of Lena’s time himself. Genji interrupted him.

“Holy *fuck*.” 

“Language!” Ana shot Genji a glare from down the hall, making her way back from the kitchen with a mug of tea. “What if a client heard you?” 

“Then they’d be at least half an hour early,” Jesse yawned. “Let him get it outta his system.”

“Holy *fuck*.” 

The second round made even Jesse raise his eyebrows. “Somethin’ wrong, pardner?”

“My brother will be in town on Friday.” 

There was an intense, eerie silence. Then, everyone began to speak at once. 

“You are still in contact? Why didn’t you tell us—“

“When? Will he see us?”

“How is he? Is he alright?”

Jesse himself gaped at Genji, mouth open as though he clearly had words to say, but found none of them. Genji observed him closely, eyebrows knitting together, but otherwise unreadable. 

“I have no answers,” Genji confessed. “He’s said little except that he will arrive Friday afternoon. He’s never answered any of my emails. I know no more about how he’s been than you.” 

There was some bitterness that grated at the edges of Genji’s voice. 

“Bring him in,” Jack commanded. 

“What?” Genji asked incredulously. 

“Bring him in,” Jack repeated. He turned to Emily at the front desk. “Cancel all our Friday afternoon appointments. The whole office.” 

Emily shot him a salute. “Roger!”

“I don’t even know if he will speak to me,” Genji protested. “And you know how he gets in groups.”

“He was never like that with us,” Lena frowned. “He didn’t like groups, but he always liked us.” 

“Yes, but that was bef—“ 

“I need to see him,” Jesse blurted out. 

The entire office turned to face him with looks of sympathy. Jesse took several steps back.

“We would all like to,” Ana added more gently. “Just to know that he is okay, even.” 

“He wouldn’t have contacted you if he didn’t want to see you,” Emily urged. 

“I will try,” Genji relented with a huff. “But you know that my brother is difficult. And it has been a long time.” 

“Then who knows? Maybe he’s changed in the two years!” Lena chirped with enthusiasm. 

“Three.” 

Once again, everyone turned at Jesse’s voice, eyes brimming with something like pity. 

“Three,” he repeated, swallowing hard. “And two months.” 

“And how many hours?” Genji deadpanned. 

“Wait. Nevermind. Don’t,” he interrupted, seeing Jesse about to answer. 

Jack fixed his gaze on Jesse and frowned. “Doesn’t matter how long. It’s time to bring him home. Make this happen, Genji, no matter what.” 

\---

A few blocks away, at Ogundimu, Reyes & Lacroix, Gabriel was stalling outside Akande’s office, scowling at the heavy mahogany door. He had been “summoned”, and did not like the power dynamic it implied. He knocked on the door, opening it after the muffled greeting. Reyes closed the door behind him and took several steps into the large room, careful not to get too close. Akande was staring out the large window, eyes fixed downward on the streets below, and did not turn to greet him. 

“You rang?” Gabe asked, knowing his voice carried the irritation currently gnawing at his stomach. 

“Hanzo Shimada has returned.”

Reyes tilted his head up in surprise at the news, but tried to hold back any other reaction. “’Return’? You make it sound like he’s staying.”

“Oh, he will. It is time to bring him home.”

Akande turned finally, and Gabe recognized the glimmer of determination flickering in the other man’s eyes, always present right before securing a case. 

“I will make this happen. No matter what.”


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Round one for Hanzo's attention, Overwatch v. Talon. Who comes out on top?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone,
> 
> Thank you for your enthusiasm, even though I posted so little yesterday! It seemed to make sense to post the prologue separately, but I did feel guilty about giving you so little to go on. So let's get started! As always, your thoughts are cherished and appreciated! <3

Friday arrived to find everyone on edge. It was the little things, really, that no one without an intimate knowledge of their firm would be able to perceive. Genji was actually wearing a tie, Lena and Emily ordered an extra shot of expresso for everyone’s coffee, Ana was wearing a scarf that Hanzo had once complemented five years ago, Jesse had combed his hair, and Jack—well, there was no real perceptible difference to Jack except for the reappearance of that vein in his neck that was a clear indicator of stress. 

The clock ticked slowly the entire morning, and the whole office spent their spare time staring resentfully at it.

While the entire firm seemed to be conspiring, they had not once verbalized their plan, and this worried Jesse. They all knew they wanted to make a good impression on their old friend and colleague, but they had never discussed to what end. 

Genji, Lena and Jesse had been with the firm since happier days, when it was “Amari, Morrison, Reyes & Shimada”. And while the loss of his mentor to Talon had hurt Jesse deeply, Hanzo’s departure had just about devastated him. Morrison had remarked at the time that at least they had a Shimada to spare, which would allow them to keep the name on their firm to preserve some semblance of stability. Everyone found this comment to be in poor taste, given the circumstances. Jesse himself had refused to talk to the man for a whole week. Genji had refused to have his name listed without Hanzo. The honour was due to his brother, not to him. He insisted that they could put it back once he returned. Days turned into months, turned into years, without any word. Everyone gave up, but Genji insisted his brother was coming back. Jesse was foolish enough to believe the same.

And now that day had finally come. 

Hanzo arrived five minutes before expected, and the office was prepared for him ten minutes before that. They weren’t prepared, however, for his appearance. 

Hanzo pushed the heavy glass door open with ease, his muscles flexing beneath the skin-tight t-shirt. 

The entire office froze. 

Genji dropped his mug of tea. 

Hanzo’s hair was cropped shorter than they last remembered, and was pulled back to reveal a cleanly shaved undercut. Piercings caught the light at the bridge of his nose, several at his ear. His intricate dragon tattoo was in full view on his arm, not covered by the button-downed shirts the man had previously preferred. 

Jesse stood, mouth open, eyes wide. He didn’t realize he was drooling until the offending fluid was half way down his chin. He was only half aware that had wiped at it absently with the back of his hand.

Hanzo met his gaze, and the air became electrified. Jesse gasped in a breath he didn’t know he was preventing—not realizing he had forgotten to breathe.

“Hello.”

Hanzo was beginning to shift uncomfortably at the silence that had greeted him. 

Everyone tried to overcompensate at once. 

Lena and Emily leapt towards him, about to embrace him in a three-way hug before remembering the man’s aversion to touch at the last minute. Their eyes met and they panicked, hugging each other instead in an awkward display of improvisation. 

Genji strode towards his brother with meaningful steps, only to slip on the puddle of tea he had left in front of him when his mug dropped. He managed to catch the corner of the counter before he fell, and scrambled to his feet sheepishly. Ana and Jack, masters of their field, managed to ignore the chaos around them and greeted Hanzo in the more traditional way, by shaking his hand. 

Through the entire fiasco though, Hanzo only had eyes for Jesse. They blinked at each other for a moment, before Jesse moved forward to try one of the many lines he had been practicing in the mirror the night before. 

“You got piercings,” was what came out instead. 

“Yes,” Hanzo answered, bewildered by the obvious statement. 

“They look—“ 

_hot as fuck._

“—nice.”

Jesse managed to save himself from that embarrassment, at least. 

“Thank you.” 

The younger members of the firm had managed to compose themselves by this point, and were standing in a line, almost as if for inspection. 

Hanzo moved towards Genji, eyes darting over him quickly, the movements of an older brother ensuring the well-being of his younger sibling. 

Genji understood this as well, and flashed his older brother a grin, before launching for a hug. Hanzo grunted on impact, but managed to wrap his arms around Genji’s shoulders in return, albeit not right away.

“It is good to see you,” Genji beamed as he finally drew back. Hanzo took several steps back and crossed his arms, but nodded. 

“You all look well,” he offered. 

“You look amazing!” Lena gushed. 

“What do your clients think?” Jack grumbled. Ana nudged him and shot him a glare. 

“I have none.” 

There was a stunned silence.

“You’re switching firms?” Genji suggested. 

“No,” Hanzo frowned, clearly not anticipating this resistance. “I no longer practice law.”

“But…you’re so good at it,” Emily trailed off lamely, her argument losing momentum fast against Hanzo’s stony demeanor.

“Thank you.” 

Their conversation reminded Jesse of the ones they had years ago, when Hanzo was still fairly new to the firm. Over time, very gradually, he had relaxed, and had been won over. Jesse’s heart fell as he realized it felt like starting all over again.

“Hey, we should have lunch!” Lena’s bright voice cut through as the perfect distraction. 

Hanzo began to shake his head no, but stopped himself, furrowing his brow. Jesse realized this meant he was fighting against his desire to leave what was clearly a stressful situation for him, and must have been doing it for their sake—he was trying. Jesse’s heart lifted, and he shot Hanzo an encouraging grin. Hanzo blinked at him for a moment. The whole office held its breath until Hanzo broke into a delicate smile. “I would like that.” 

The rest of the firm beamed. 

“Oh bugger, we won’t get in at Tojo’s,” Em muttered to herself. “How about The Shady Porch? I’ll call now to see if they have room.” 

“Hang on, I’m grabbing my stuff!” Genji ran towards his office. 

Ana and Jack took a few steps forward to fill in the space. 

“You might consider consulting,” Ana suggested subtly. “For something less strenuous.” 

“We have cases that we’d love your help on,” Jack added, less subtly. 

“Thank you, but no,” Hanzo said firmly. 

“Think about it,” Jack insisted. “We’re seeing a major potential client on Monday. You should come.” 

“I must regretfully decline.” Hanzo’s tone suggested he wasn’t that regretful about it. “I have a meeting on Monday.” 

“Oh? With who?” 

Hanzo shifted uncomfortably. “Gabriel Reyes.” 

Jack dropped his coffee. Jesse was thankful they ordered the company mugs in bulk. 

“Why are you meeting with him?” Morrison demanded. 

“He requested it. I believe they are also seeking my services as a consulting lawyer on a case.” 

“That bastard,” Jack was advancing on Hanzo. Hanzo frowned and took another step back. “And you would consider it? Consider _them_ , but not us?” 

Jesse grit his teeth. 

_Shit, old man. Not right now_.

“No, of course not,” Hanzo straightened his shoulders to hold himself taller as Morrison continued to stalk towards him. Out of reflex, Jesse stepped between them, crossing his arms and staring Jack down. 

“I will turn him down in person, out of courtesy.”

“That piece of shit doesn’t deserve courtesy!” 

“Jack. Language.” Ana barked. 

“Regardless of what happened between you, Reyes is my friend, and has helped me through a challenging time.”

Jesse raised his eyebrows and shot a questioning look to Genji, who had just returned with his coat. The younger Shimada shrugged, having no answer. 

“So that’s why you came back?” Jack demanded. “To betray us?”

“Hey, watch it, pardner,” Jesse warned, taking another step forward. 

“No. I came back to see my brother. My _friends_ ,” Hanzo snapped. “Reyes contacted me yesterday and asked to meet. It just so happened that I had already made plans to come.”

“Convenient.” The word was barely audible, not meant to be heard, but the entire office heard it anyways, and twitched. 

“I’m sorry?” Hanzo bristled. 

“I…said nothing,” Jack muttered. 

There was an awkward silence. 

“I suddenly remember another engagement that I have been promised to.” Hanzo’s crisp voice cut through it like a knife. 

Emily and Lena both began to plead at once. 

Jesse grasped Hanzo’s arm, not even aware that he was moving to do so until he made contact. Hanzo flinched, and he looked up in alarm. Jesse reluctantly let go. 

“Another time then,” Jesse was aware he sounded desperate, and not nearly as calm as he would have liked. “Before you go.” 

“I am not sure how long I will stay,” Hanzo’s voice softened, and he rubbed at his arm where Jesse had touched him. “We will see.” 

“Hanzo—”

“Brother—” 

Hanzo turned before he reached the door, frowning. It seemed as though he were fighting with himself again, but Jesse couldn’t figure out the sides of the argument, and therefore couldn’t figure out how to argue for the man to stay. He looked at him helplessly, eyes pleading for a second chance. 

Hanzo shook his head and forced a smile. 

“It was good to see all of you.” 

As soon as the door closed, Jesse slammed his fist against the wall. Genji swept a third unfortunate mug off a table. The entire firm seemed to feel the same. 

“Shit.” 

\--- 

“Jesse, meeting at 10!” Emily’s voice chirped over the speaker phone. 

“Thanks, darlin’,” Jesse answered absently. Despite having the weekend to recover, the mood of the firm on Monday morning was decidedly morose. Genji and Jesse had refused to say a word to Jack all morning, and Jack, stubborn ass that he was, hadn’t attempted anything like an apology. 

Life went on, however. It was just unfortunate that their first client of the day was important enough to require everyone’s attendance. 

Genji and Jesse sat beside each other in the conference room, and they waited for the other partners and their potential client to arrive. 

“Any news?” Jesse asked immediately. 

Genji shook his head, almost in apology. “Not a word.” 

Jesse slumped in his chair. 

“He was going to stay all week,” Genji offered. “There is time yet to see him again.” 

“That man’ll only be seen if he wants to be seen,” Jesse sounded equal parts resigned and smitten. 

“You saw how he was looking at you,” Genji insisted. He gave an exaggerated sigh at Jesse’s blank look. “Of course you didn’t. You were too busy mooning over his new piercings.” 

“They’re— “ 

”Nice” was once again what Jesse was aiming for.

“—hot as fuck” was what came out. 

Genji choked on his tea. 

“I like you guys already,” a new voice chimed in. 

Genji and Jesse jumped up, having been so rapt in conversation that they had missed Jack and Ana’s entrance. The two senior partners were frowning at them with disapproval. Between them, stood a younger man in a bright green hoodie. 

“I apologize, Mr. dos Santos—“Jack began. 

“Lucio,” the man corrected with a bright smile. “And nothing to apologize for. I like it when people keep it real.” 

“Did y’already meet Emily then?” Jesse asked with a grin. “Don’t get more real than her love for your music. She’s been talkin’ about you non-stop since your people called us.” 

“Emily’s great,” Lucio replied with a laugh. 

“Once again, I apologize. She doesn’t normally greet our clients with such a high-pitch,” Jack cut in, perma-frown ever in place. 

“It’s cool.” Jesse could see that Lucio was beginning to shift where he stood, much like Hanzo whenever he was nervous. He intervened. 

“She had us listen to your latest album. Not normally my thing, but I appreciate the work.” 

“Thanks Eastwood, that means a lot,” Lucio brightened again. Jesse grinned at the nickname, and tipped his hat back. 

They all found seats at the table. 

“So, Vishkar,” Jesse whistled. 

Lucio nodded. 

“Ambitious.”

“Someone’s gotta do it,” the younger man’s expression darkened. “It ain’t right what they do.” 

“I agree,” Jesse nodded as well. He had noticed that the other lawyers had fallen back to allow him to lead. It was one of the many things that lead to their success as a firm: they could read situations collectively, without sharing words, and had picked up that Lucio was already drawn to Jesse. They also trusted each other enough to give up control, despite Jack’s frequent grumbling about appearances. “So tell me more about what you wanna do.” 

“I’m suing them for purposefully obstructing my concert in the Staples Center.” 

“Economic interference. For a concert like the ones you hold, that’s a big civil case. Bold.” Genji’s voice suggested approval instead of judgement. Lucio flashed him a grin. 

“That’ll be difficult to prove,” Jesse mused thoughtfully. 

“Proving it isn’t even the point.” 

The lawyers looked at the man with various levels of confusion. 

“I don’t care if I win,” Lucio explained. “I mean, I’d like it if we won. But I’m doin’ this to prove to them they can’t just reach out and silence voices they don’t like. They do it all the time to people who are less fortunate than me, who aren’t able to fight back.” 

The musician’s frown deepened. “Well I can. I’m gonna cost them time and money, and I’m gonna show others that what they’re doing is wrong. The media pays attention to what I do. Might as well use it in my favour.” 

Other firms of Overwatch’s caliber would have politely escorted Lucio out at this point for bringing in a case that they couldn’t hope to win, with promises of considering his case, while already coming up with reasons to decline. However, this was this kind of case that Overwatch lived for. The team exchanged glances, their mood already improving considerably. 

“We’re skippin’ arbitration then,” Jesse mused with a grin. “So let’s consider how we’d do this.” 

\---

Reyes had worked with Ogundimu for long enough to know that while the man was fairly self-sufficient, he sometimes meant “we” when he said “I”. This was likely a product of his perceived self-sufficiency: in his mind, any team effort was his effort, as he was the one in command of the team. Reyes scowled silently into his sparkling water. 

“Something wrong?” Akande asked casually. 

Of _course_ he’d notice. 

“Everything’s peachy,” Reyes replied. Akande had also worked with him for long enough to pick up on the sarcasm. 

“You are worried that he will be angry.” 

“Nah, I _know_ he’ll be angry,” Reyes frowned. 

“He is coming to turn you down. Out of his respect for you.” Akande had identified as much as well. Reyes should have known he would. “So this will be our only chance. We’ve lost nothing then if he says no.” 

“Nothing except—“ 

“You value your friendship with the man?” Akande raised a single eyebrow. “How unlike you.”

“He’s the only one who will still talk to me,” Reyes shrugged. “Call me sentimental.” 

“No, I do not think I would ever call you that,” Akande answered with a laugh. “But you worry needlessly. He will not blame you. I—“ 

Akande came to a full stop, suddenly at a loss for words. His mouth hung slightly open, as though he had fully meant to finish the sentence, had his brain not simply stopped functioning. Gabe frowned. The man was a master over himself, and never once lost control of his actions in all the time they had worked together. He turned to look at what had caused Akande’s reaction, and saw Hanzo walking towards them with purpose. 

Gabe whistled. “That’s a new look.” 

Akande didn’t answer. 

“You think the clients will mind?”

Still nothing. 

“You’d better start thinking of something to say, because you’re about to look like a fool,” Reyes leaned in to smirk just before Hanzo got within listening range. Akande snapped to attention at the insult, eyes narrowing to shoot Reyes a scowl before smoothing his features into an effortless smile. Something about the man’s reaction didn’t sit well with Gabe, but he filed it away for later. 

“Shimada.” Instead of pondering further, Reyes stood to grasp Hanzo’s hand, slapping him hard on the shoulder with the other. “You look good.” 

“You as well,” Hanzo tilted his head slightly. His attention shifted to the other man standing beside Reyes. Reyes turned his body so that only Hanzo could see his face before rolling his eyes. Hanzo gave him a small smile.

“This is Akande Ogundimu.” 

“A pleasure.” While the man always exuded charm, Akande somehow turned it up to eleven. People at the table next to them turned their heads at his greeting, drawn by an indefinable quality in his voice. 

Shimada, to Reyes’ amusement, was unaffected. It was normally at this point in the introductions where clients were often caught staring at Akande for just a bit too long, with just a bit too much appreciation. Hanzo did not react physically beyond darting his eyes to evaluate the other man with disinterested precision, already forming judgement. Then again, Shimada had always been hard to read. It had taken the ingrate years to figure out that the other man was interested in him as well. Gabe couldn’t shake the significance of his return to that memory at this moment. 

Hanzo shook the hand in front of him firmly. “Likewise.” Akande gestured for him to sit. Reyes noticed that he barely existed anymore to his colleague, and the unease continued to eat at him. 

“Thanks for agreeing to see us.” 

“You,” Hanzo corrected wryly. “I had agreed to see _you_.” 

“After hearing of Gabriel’s plans, I could not help but to intrude,” Akande cut in, smooth as silk. “To meet such a well-respected member of our profession, it is an honour.”

Reyes openly rolled his eyes this time. Akande was not one to give out compliments lightly, but when he did, they were accurate, but elaborate. Hanzo caught Gabe’s expression and his lips quirked up. 

“You honour me,” Hanzo replied. “But I no longer practice.” 

Akande and Reyes looked at him with muted surprise. 

“I see,” Akande answered slowly. “How unfortunate. You are a credit to whatever firm you join.” 

“How kind.” The answer was just as dry as before. Akande was getting nowhere fast with his usual tactics, and this amused Reyes to no end. 

“You’d still consider consulting for us, I hope,” Reyes joined the conversation. “It’d feel a lot better having you at our table.” 

“I am not sure your clients would agree.” Hanzo gestured to himself. “I don’t exactly look the part anymore, nor am I particularly interested in the work.” 

“But you still wanna hear the case first,” Gabe chided. He saw it: the flicker of interest that Hanzo was unable to hide quickly enough. He grinned. 

“Vishkar Corp. They’re defending against allegations of economic interference from Lucio Correia dos Santos.” 

“The musician,” Hanzo mused. 

Akande nodded. “Dos Santos is doing this purely to gain attention for his own cause. Vishkar would like to send a message of their own, and is looking for a firm that can help them do so with grace.” 

Gabe had sat across from Hanzo in enough meetings to recognize that the man’s mind was already reeling, piecing together relevant information, finding angles, drafting statements. Just as quickly, he watched the man catch himself. 

“It sounds like you will have a difficult case on your hands,” he replied, careful to exclude himself from the equation. 

“They’ve not chosen us yet,” Reyes began. 

“Reyes.” 

Gabe blinked at Hanzo’s sudden, leaden-voiced interruption.

“You are drinking sparkling water.” It was an accusation. 

Shit.

“Yeah?” Gabe tried.

“You hate sparkling water,” Hanzo’s eyes narrowed. “You only drink it when seeing clients.” 

Realization and anger dawned across Shimada’s face in equally great measures. He stood. 

“Now hold on, Shimada,” Gabe stood as well, but knew better than to lay hands on Hanzo in this state. “I think you’d like hearing them out.” 

“I came to see you as a courtesy,” Hanzo hissed. “Although I see clearly now that you do not have the same regard for me.” 

“Did Overwatch?” Akande’s question was delivered with the careless confidence of someone who had already won. 

“What.” Hanzo spun to stare down the taller man.

“When you visited them last week. Did they show you the respect you deserve? As a longtime friend? When you showed up in a manner so unusable to them?”

“Or did they throw the great kindness you did them back in your face? The fact that you overcame something so difficult and brought yourself to see them, against your better judgement?”

Gabriel marveled that Akande could piece this together without knowing anyone else at the firm very well, but also swallowed down the suspicion churning in his stomach that even listening in on this conversation felt like further betrayal. 

Hanzo remained silent. 

“I am here to show you the respect that you are due,” Akande continued. “To show my admiration for your resilience and to honour you in the best way I know how: by offering you a place at our table.” 

While the answer was not immediately clear from Hanzo’s expression, Akande had managed to make time run out. 

“Ahh, here they are now.” 

Hanzo’s eyes narrowed, and Gabe could see the man filing this series of events aside for reference, to better predict Akande’s actions at some future date. 

A man and a woman in matching suits arrived at the side of their table. The lawyers stood. 

“Mr. Ogundimu,” The man greeted Akande with a practiced smile. “Sanjay Korpal. You spoke with my assistant over the phone. This is my colleague, Satya Vaswani.” 

“Good to meet you both,” Akande reached to shake their hands. “This is my partner at the firm, Gabriel Reyes. And this is our good friend, who might step in as consultant should we need, Hanzo Shimada.” 

Hanzo reached forward to shake hands, face not betraying his irritation. Reyes knew again that this was for his benefit, and cringed internally at the small kindnesses he was being shown. 

“Mr. Shimada,” Sanjay looked pleased. The weight of Hanzo’s name seemed to overcome any surprise about his appearance. “You would be most welcome. I was sorry to hear about your brother’s accident.” 

All three lawyers stiffened, suggesting to they recognized the sore subject. They feigned calm just as fast. 

“Thank you. He has almost made a full recovery,” Hanzo answered without any noticeable strain. 

Akande welcomed them all to take seats at the table. Orders for lunch were placed (Reyes noticed that Hanzo had ordered the second most expensive item on the menu, likely out of spite, and silently applauded the move) before the conversation began. 

“So I understand that you will be defending against Mr. dos Santos’ claims of economic interference?”

Sanjay nodded. “It was a shame that the electricity in Staples Center failed shortly before his concert.”

“Some might call it a coincidence,” Gabe took a sip of his water and tried not to scrunch his face in disgust. Akande shot him a look, but Sanjay seemed unfazed. 

“Yes, some might. Some might also call his frequent public statements against our company slander, and yet here we are, defendants in this court case, and not the plaintiffs,” Satya answered, narrowing her eyes at no one in particular. 

“Tell us about how you would like to approach this case,” Akande opened his notepad. Reyes noted with some mixed feelings that Hanzo had done the same. 

\---

After the meeting concluded, and Sanjay and Satya had departed, Akande ordered three cognacs without consulting either of his lunch companions. 

Hanzo raised an eyebrow. “Celebrating a little early, aren’t you?” 

Akande smiled. “Regardless of whether we get the case, I believe a toast is in order.”

“So what d’ya think?” Reyes asked Hanzo. 

“Vishkar will attempt to use this case to tip public sympathy in their favour,” Hanzo mused. “And being the defendants already gives them the upper hand.” 

“Dos Santos obviously does not care about the money,” Akande added. “Nor about winning. He will be seeking to hurt their reputation even further.” 

“So this case is ultimately not what it seems.” Hanzo’s calm voice did not betray the flicker of interest that Gabe recognized in his eyes. 

“So you’ll join us?” Reyes pressed. 

Hanzo frowned. “I did not say that.” 

“Nor have you said otherwise.” Akande flashed him another smile.

“Who will represent dos Santos?” Hanzo inquired. 

“It is not known.” 

“But you might suspect,” Gabe snorted. “A do-gooder case like this? Of this size?”

All three men nodded, acknowledging the unspoken. 

“Vishkar is not necessarily in the wrong. They have largely allowed dos Santos to do and say as he pleases,” Akande pondered out loud. “And this is not the most devastating blow they could attempt.”

“It might be enough,” Hanzo frowned. He shook his head. “You honour me with this offer, but I cannot help you with this case.” 

“Very well,” Akande granted. He seemed less upset than Reyes would have expected. “Will you consider observing the proceedings? To see how we do things at Talon.” 

“Why would I want to do that?” Hanzo narrowed his eyes. 

“Because my next offer, pending approval from my partners of course, is partnership itself.” 

Reyes and Hanzo looked at Akande with stunned silence. 

“The work is in your blood,” Akande leaned forward. “You miss it.” 

Hanzo did not answer. 

“And what better place for Hanzo Shimada, what worthier place, than Talon?” Akande’s voice had taken the silky effortless tone that he used in his most persuasive moments in court. 

“I have seen how you do things at Talon,” Hanzo finally returned with a smirk. “Several times.”

Akande laughed. “Yes. Amelie is still sore over Wong v. Baker. But you have not seen _me_.”

That last word rolled off Akande’s tongue, sinfully suggestive in its delivery. Reyes grimaced. That was the last straw. Something had to be done. _Now_. But what?

Their drinks arrived. 

Akande waited patiently. 

“If you acquire the case, I would not be averse to observing from the audience,” Hanzo answered, frowning into his glass. 

Akande gave Hanzo a beaming smile, the one that always made Reyes uneasy. He raised his glass. Reyes and Hanzo did the same. 

“To new friends.” Akande’s voice was rich with victory. 

\--- 

**Reaper:** Sombra. New case. 

**Sombra:** You got Vishkar? Nice.

 **Reaper:** What. No. How did? Nm. 

**Sombra:** Don’t ask Qs you don’t want answers to, _jefe_. What do you need? 

**Reaper:** I’ll email you. Put a package together.

 **Sombra:** : Got it.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse meets Hanzo for dinner, as preparations for the trial begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone,
> 
> Thank you so much for the kudos and kind comments!! I'm overwhelmed by the enthusiasm for this idea, and hope that it does not disappoint.   
> You may have noticed I've upped the chapter count by 2. Also, just as a fair warning: this chapter ends on a bit of an angsty cliffhanger. The ball is mostly in Jesse's court this chapter, while we switch to Akande in the next.   
> Please let me know what you think if you have the time! I love and appreciate your comments :)   
> <3

Jesse was just eating breakfast when he got the text from an unknown number. 

**Unknown:** Hey. You might wanna see this. 

Jesse was instantly suspicious. A series of texts contain various files began to ping in. He was just about to delete them without checking their contents, when another text came in. 

**Unknown:** And just so you don’t delete them. You’re welcome.

The text that followed was a photo of Hanzo in a loose tank top, looking like he was taking a break from jogging. The photo focused in on his muscular chest that was glistening with sweat. His head was thrown back as he threw water from a bottle onto his face.

Jesse swallowed the saliva that had instantly begun to collect, then frowned. 

**Jesse:** Sombra.

 **Unknown:** ¿Qué onda?

 **Jesse:** WTF do you want?

 **Unknown:** Read the files.

 **Jesse:** What if it’s a virus?

 **Unknown:** So you _don’t_ wanna know how Hanzo’s meeting on Monday went? 

Jesse nearly coughed up his toast. 

**Jesse:** What’s in it for you?

 **Unknown:** Job like any other.

 **Jesse:** Who’s paying you?

 **Unknown:** Just read the files. Or don’t. I don’t care. I get paid anyway. 

Jesse clenched his teeth, glaring at the screen. He opened the first file. 

\--- 

“Staff meeting.” 

Emily and Genji looked up at Jesse in surprise as he burst through the door. 

Jesse picked up the phone on Em’s desk and hit the speaker to all the phones in the office. 

“Staff meeting. _Now_.”

“What’s wrong?” Ana asked as soon as they’d all taken their seats in the conference room. 

“Talon’s trying to recruit Hanzo,” Jesse got straight to the point, grimacing. 

The other members of the firm began to murmur with each other in surprise. 

“How do you know?” Jack demanded.

Jesse took out his tablet and plugged it into the projector. He brought up several texts from Reyes’ phone arranging a lunch with Hanzo and Vishkar, another text sent afterwards, confirming the date of the Vishkar case management conference, which Reyes had sent to both Hanzo and another partner at his firm. Yet another series of screenshots showed a conversation Reyes was having with his partner alone. Reyes asked his partner whether he’d be able to keep it in his pants during the trial with Hanzo watching, which Ogundimu didn’t dignify with a response. It was the last set of messages that had made Jesse especially livid. 

“Where did you get these?” Genji asked. 

“They were sent to me this morning. Unknown number.” 

“Sombra,” Jack spat. 

“Probably,” Jesse admitted. 

“What’s her game?” Lena pondered. 

“Said she had an employer.” 

“Who? What’s _their_ game then? Does this benefit Talon in any way?” Lena continued to think out loud. 

“Distraction from the case? Looks like Talon’s gonna represent Vishkar,” Jesse mused. 

“Who’s heading it?” Ana asked. 

“Ogundimu,” Jack muttered. 

“I don’t like this,” Jesse frowned. 

“They’d know that,” Jack pointed out. 

“I think we’re all ignoring a simple truth here. My brother would never join them,” Genji scowled. “This is not even a problem.” 

“Even if he did,” Everyone shot Ana a blank stare of disbelief. “Even _if_ he did, it has no bearing on us. It would be his choice, and we would work the case as we would regardless.” 

All eyes shifted to Jesse. 

“Y’all know me better than that,” he glared back.

No one mentioned the three cases in a row that Jesse lost after Hanzo’s departure. It was pointed out by omission. 

“I can lead dos Santos,” Jack offered. 

“You are not allowed any cases versus Talon. *Ever* again,” Ana reminded him. 

“It was one time—“ Morrison protested. 

“Yes, the one time you nearly clocked Reyes in the court room,” Genji agreed. 

“And had Jesse not tripped you before you could do it, it would have been much worse,” Ana’s eyes crinkled with disapproval. She sighed. “Hanzo was always best against Talon.” 

“Never lost a case,” Jesse recalled with a fond smile. 

Genji slammed his hand against the table. “Ockham’s Razor. The simplest solution is to _make sure_ my brother doesn’t join Talon.” 

Ana frowned. “That task in itself will be a distraction.” 

“Spare time only,” Jesse promised. 

“I’ll help,” Lena and Emily chirped. 

“I’m on it,” Genji added. 

They all looked at Jack and Ana expectantly. 

The senior partners shot each other a glance and sighed, nodding. 

“Perfect,” Genji grinned, and pointed to Jesse. “First thing’s first. _You_ are taking him out for dinner.” 

“What? I’m not sure he’d want that,” Jesse turned pink. 

“Aww, not this again,” Lena complained. 

“You danced around each other for two years,” Emily reminded him. 

“And he’s been gone for three,” Jesse argued. “People change. They move on.” 

The entire firm knew that Jesse hadn’t. 

“Jesse’s right,” Ana chimed in. Lena and Emily looked betrayed. “Perhaps he has. And in that case, Akande Ogundimu is not a threat.” 

“What.” Jesse narrowed his eyes. 

“Gabriel’s last texts suggested Akande’s personal interest in Hanzo,” Ana sipped her tea like a boss. “If Hanzo has already moved on, then it is nothing to worry about.” 

“Ogundimu…is he the one with the broad chest and thick arms?” Lena asked innocently, catching on. 

“He is not my brother’s type,” Genji waved the idea off theatrically. “His rich, velvet voice and chiseled features are not of any consequence to—“ 

“Alright, alright. Genji, give me his new number. I’ll set up dinner myself,” Jesse growled. 

Even Jack might have been grinning at McCree’s response. 

\---   
_  
“McCree! Over here.”_

_“Evenin’, darlin’. We’re the first ones here?”_

_“We are the *only* ones here. The reservation for Overwatch was made for two people, not six.”_

_“Oh.”_

_“…”_

_“Those lil’ shits.”_

_“My thoughts exactly.”_

_“…well, it’d be a shame to waste a reservation to such a fine restaurant. I hear their mezcal collection is first rate.”_

_“Then let’s sample some, cowboy.”_

_\---_

_“And then Morrison, fucking Jack-stick-up-the-ass-Morrison stuck his tongue down Reyes’ throat.”_

_“No…”_

_“In front of the fucking judge.”_

_“What.”_

_“Called it a victory lap. If Ana wasn’t laughing so hard, she’d have kicked his ass into the next courtroom.”_

_\---_

_“—and when he woke up, his hair was dyed green.”_

_“…vicious.”_

_“He had it coming.”_

_“Remind me never to use the last of your sencha without buying you more.”_

_“I’ll drink to that. Most tragically, Genji took a liking to the colour…”_

_\---_

_“You’re lookin’ a bit flushed there, sweetheart. You okay?”_

_“…”_

_“…Darlin’?”_

_“I’m in love with you.”_

_“...”_

_“…I have been for years. I just never thought…pretend I never said—“_

_“Nonono, wait that’s not what I meant—“_

_“You look like you’re about to throw up.”_

_“Well, yeah, you’re not wrong, but…nonono! I mean, it’s…I am too.”_

_“…in love with you? Yes, your narcissism has always been problematic.”_

_“Fuck you, Hanzo Shimada. This is fucking hard to say.”_

_“It took me two years and six shots of your disgusting tequila drink, and you don’t think I know that?”_

_“And I’m the one with unsophisticated tastes? That’s mezcal, not tequila!”_

_\---_

_“Han.”_

_“…”_

_“Han.”_

_“…what.”_

_“I love you too.”  
_  
\---   
_  
“Ngh…” Jesse took a long stretch, which normally was not a problem, were there not another body in his bed._

_“Kuso!”_

_“Shit, sorry!”_

_A body that Jesse had just punched squarely in the face._

_Jesse scrambled as his senses gradually woke up with him, turning to confirm the identity of his mystery bedmate._

_Hanzo blinked at him, scowling._

_“Is this how you treat every man who follows you home?”_

_Jesse’s mind shut down._

_Hanzo Shimada was in his bed, and had just acknowledged he knew he was in his bed through a joke._

_Jesse’s silence began to unnerve the other man, and Hanzo began to shuffle, looking down at the blanket._

_“Oh. Oh no, I’m sorry, sweetpea,” Jesse grabbed at his hands, trying to fix it. “I do—“_

_“—don’t remember what happened last night?” Hanzo frowned. Either Hanzo recovered from hangovers really quickly, or he wasn’t nearly as drunk as Jesse had imagined last night. Jesse realized it was likely the second._

_“I remember most of it,” McCree confessed._

_The frown deepened._

_“The good parts,” Jesse tried again with a sly smile._

_The frown retreated slightly._

_“So…”_

_“I do not expect you to act on it, despite knowing my feelings.” Hanzo had slipped into his courtroom-voice, which Jesse recognized also as the one he used in anxious social situations. Despite the tone, Hanzo’s expression remained gentle. “I am not the easiest man to—“_

_Hanzo didn’t get to finish the self-deprecating remark, as he was cut short by Jesse’s lips crashing against his own. Shimada’s entire body drew tense, but Jesse was determined. He rubbed soothingly at Hanzo’s back, ran his hands down Hanzo’s bare arms, until each muscle relaxed, and the other man melted against his body._

_“So does this mean—“_

_“Mmn.”_

_“Are we—“_

_“Mmm.”_

_“Can we—“_

_“Are you always going to talk this much when we kiss?” Hanzo finally huffed._

_Jesse had laughed, falling on top of Hanzo to press his lips on all sorts of new places.  
_  
\--- 

Jesse jolted awake in that same bed, distinctly missing the feeling of Hanzo’s body pressed against his own, despite not having woken up beside him in years. He took a deep breath and exhaled, turning his head to look at the time. 

Two hours. 

He stretched. 

Hanzo had agreed to dinner, to Jesse’s surprise. They had a reservation at La Mezcaleria, the very same restaurant where they had first admitted their feelings for each other. He hoped that the place still held more positive than negative memories for Hanzo. 

Jesse got ready with extra care, ensuring his beard was trimmed, his hair was combed. He put on his favourite shirt: one that Hanzo had liked, realizing only then that his wardrobe needed updating. 

He frowned at his reflection in the mirror. Part of the issue was he hadn’t really ever been sure what Hanzo saw in him the first place. That in itself had made Hanzo’s confession all the more shocking, and all the more precious. Jesse narrowed his eyes with determination. He sure as hell wasn’t going to let Hanzo leave again without a fight. 

He arrived at the restaurant ten minutes early. 

“McCree! Over here!” 

Hanzo was of course, already there. The evening began all-too-familiar. Jesse forced a smile that became far more natural when Hanzo came into view. He was wearing a different t-shirt than before, but it was just as snug around his chest, and still showcased the winding blue double dragon tattoo. That Hanzo was able to show this part of himself with such confidence, that he was able to hold his head high with his new adornments in general, made Jesse feel a spark of pride on the man’s behalf. He knew firsthand how carefully Hanzo had curated his appearance before his departure, how adamant he was about looking proper. Jesse guessed that this new look was something that Hanzo had just wanted, and he was happy that the man could finally let himself have something like it. 

“How did I get so lucky, to be dining with the finest man in the entire restaurant?” Jesse beamed before taking his seat across from Hanzo. 

The other man huffed. “Some things do not change, I see.” 

“You’re right. You’ve always been the finest man in every restaurant we’ve been to together,” Jesse agreed. 

That earned a blush. Jesse grinned, counting it a victory. The waitress arrived for their drink orders. 

“So how’ve you been, sweetheart?” Jesse asked after their drinks arrived.

Hanzo considered the question seriously. Jesse counted another point in his favour, knowing the man would not deem just anyone worthy of an honest answer. 

“Well enough,” he answered at last. “Better than I have been.” 

Jesse nodded, waiting.

Hanzo took a long sip of his drink. 

“I have done some travelling. Some soul-searching.” 

“But no lawyering?” Jesse asked. 

Hanzo shook his head. “My mind did not feel clear enough. It would not have gone well. About a year ago, I realized that this in itself was liberating. Not needing to worry about who I appeared to be, who I had to be.” 

He laced his fingers together and placed his hands on the table. “I’m sure that makes little sense.” 

“Makes sense,” Jesse reassured. “That explains the new look?”

Hanzo nodded. “It was just the hair, at first. I knew, if needed, it would grow back. Then one ear. Then another. Then something else. It would shock me, the morning after, my appearance in the mirror, but then the difference would settle in. And I would acknowledge the new addition as a part of myself. It was…a relief every time.” 

“Oh?” Jesse was surprised by Hanzo’s openness, and was completely smitten by it. He never wanted it to stop. 

“That I was still myself,” Hanzo looked down at his hands, at a tattoo that Jesse hadn’t noticed before. Two lines—one red, one blue—crossed and wound around the wrist without the dragons. “Despite the marks, the holes. I am myself still.” 

Jesse was struck by the pure earnest of that phrase. Without realizing it, he reached across the table to grasp at Hanzo’s hands. The other man looked up with surprise. Jesse smiled warmly. 

“I’m glad to see that. To see you at all,” Jesse admitted. He made sure to hold Hanzo’s gaze. “I’ve missed you, sweetheart.” 

Hanzo’s face twisted, as did his hands. Jesse held on tighter, but not tight enough to prevent Hanzo from escaping his grasp, if he wanted to. To Jesse’s relief, it appeared he did not.

“I am sorry if I worried you.” Hanzo looked down at their joint hands intently. “I needed time.”

“Of course,” Jesse swallowed. The smile was getting more difficult to maintain.

“And you?” Hanzo inquired. “How have you been?”

Jesse had every intention of giving the generic reply that one might expect of an acquaintance, but realized that this was not the type of answer that Hanzo himself had given, nor was it the type of response that he deserved. 

“Miserable without you,” he admitted instead.

Hanzo frowned, but did not respond, waiting for Jesse to go on. 

“I never expected that you’d feel the same about me, despite how close we were, despite how long I’d felt that way. When we finally were together, I was over the moon.” Jesse wondered whether this was the best approach, but knew he couldn’t stop the words if he wanted to. “When you left, I…” 

Hanzo remained still. 

“I’m not myself without you, Hanzo,” Jesse finished. “I’m not complete.” 

They sat in silence for a while, hands still connected. Their waitress must have passed by and sensed the tension, as she did not approach for their food orders. 

“I have missed you as well,” Hanzo finally answered quietly. Jesse felt just the slightest pressure on his fingers and looked up hopefully. 

The corners of Hanzo’s lips turned upwards into that delicate smile that Jesse always recalled to himself in his toughest moments. Just as quickly, it was gone. 

“How are you and my brother?” Hanzo asked, 

Jesse frowned. “Genji and I are doin’ fine. Separately.” 

“Oh.” 

“He’s been livin’ with his boyfriend from Nepal since he got back. You’ve not met Zen yet?” 

Hanzo shook his head. “I have not met with my brother yet, no.”

Part of Jesse preened that Hanzo would agree to see him before his own brother. Another part of him was uncomfortable by what this suggested. 

“Zen’s a nice guy. Real calm. Exactly what Genji needed.” 

Hanzo nodded. “He has always needed a steadying presence. I am glad that he has found one.” 

“He still misses you though,” Jesse was quick to point out, before Hanzo could use this as a reason to distance himself. “He still needs his big brother.” 

“He has clearly demonstrated that he does not.” 

“Well, maybe I need you then,” Jesse blurted out. 

There was another silence as Hanzo tried to work through the feelings warring across his features. 

“You have been fine, Jesse, and will continue to be fine,” Hanzo answered slowly, refusing to look up. “I have been keeping track of your cases. You are an excellent lawyer. They will make you senior partner soon, surely, as they will my brother.” 

“There’s only one Shimada that currently has that honour,” Jesse insisted. “And seein’ my name on the sign don’t mean a thing to me if it’s not beside yours.” 

“We should change the subject, if you wish to continue our meal.” 

Despite the threat in the statement, Jesse appreciated the warning that would not have been given if Hanzo had wanted to leave. He nodded.

They placed their food orders, 

“You’ve enjoyed your travels?” Jesse asked after another short pause.

Hanzo nodded, and hesitated again. “Travelling has been liberating. But lately I have been yearning to settle. I have returned to see if LA might still be considered home.” 

Jesse sat straighter, trying to ensure that their conversation didn’t go down the wrong path again. Hanzo had refused to entertain the idea of returning to the firm, but it sounded as though he had not ruled out staying in the city. 

“We made a pretty bad case for it on Friday, huh?” Jesse asked sheepishly. 

Hanzo shrugged, and gave an almost fond smile. “It is reassuring in some ways to see that Jack has not changed.”

“So how can I be more persuasive?” Jesse flashed him a brilliant grin, leaning forward even more. He began to rub his fingers over Hanzo’s hands, which were still in his grasp. 

“I am not sure that there is a case to be made,” Hanzo admitted with a frown. “It is simply a matter of affect. Of whether I feel able to stay in the city, whether I allow myself to.” 

Jesse saw where this was going. He squeezed Hanzo’s hands to draw his attention.

“It wasn’t your fault.” The words felt years too late. 

“Yes, so my therapist keeps telling me,” Hanzo answered wryly. “But then again, I am paying him.” 

Jesse chuckled, despite the desperation growing in his chest. He furrowed his brow in concern, trying to meet Hanzo’s gaze again. “No one blames you for it.” 

“The therapist has mentioned this as well.” Hanzo’s lips pulled into a smirk. “All I have to do is forgive myself, evidently.”

“Should be easy then,” Jesse nodded, playing along. “You’re the least stubborn man I’ve ever met.” 

Hanzo laughed, actually _laughed_ , and Jesse’s heart flew out of his chest and ascended to heaven. 

“So where are we, darlin’?” Jesse pressed hesitantly. He had every reason to believe that Hanzo would give him an honest answer, given the way the conversation was going, and had to hear it, regardless of what it was. 

Hanzo blinked. 

“We are exactly where we are now,” he answered with another slow smile. “Here together, enjoying each other’s company.” 

“A date?” Jesse asked hopefully. Hanzo seemed to find this endearing, judging by the affection in his expression. 

“Of course.”

\--- 

The evening concluded with Jesse on cloud nine. While they had parted ways after dinner, Jesse had moved in shyly for a kiss before Hanzo left, and Hanzo had pressed his lips softly against his own. 

He woke up with the feeling of that feather-soft touch still fresh on his lips, and it filled him with warmth and hope. 

The entire office was waiting for him in the conference room when he arrived the next morning. 

“Well?” Genji all but pounced on him when he entered. Jesse’s easy smile must have answered his question wordlessly. The entire room gave a collected sigh of relief. 

“So you had sex?” 

The entire room choked on their various morning beverages, and turned to look at Jack in disbelief. 

“What? I wanted to confirm the kill.” Morrison blinked. 

“We aren’t in the army anymore, Jack,” Ana rolled her eyes. “And that is none of our business.”

Nevertheless, she was giving Jesse the same expectant look as everyone else at the table. 

“None of your business,” Jesse echoed her words. 

Genji considered his answer and expression. “They didn’t do it.” 

The other members of the firm gave a disappointed groan. 

“You don’t know that!” Jesse sputtered. 

Genji raised an eyebrow. McCree sulked. 

“Doesn’t matter, habibi. I am glad that the evening went well,” Ana said in a soothing voice. 

“This is exactly why he hates us,” Jesse muttered. 

“No, this is exactly why he _loves_ us,” Lena chirped. 

“Alright, this is exactly why _I_ hate y’all then,” Jesse countered. 

Lena mockingly held a hand to her chest. 

“Now that’s all out of the way, dos Santos,” Jack barked. 

The firm snapped to business. 

“You’ve got the meeting with Vishkar and Talon here at 11:00am today,” Em reported. “You’ve arranged a meeting with Lucio for 10:00am to ensure that everything’s in order.” 

California law required that both parties meet before the trial could even be called.

Jesse nodded. “Who d’ya want in the room, boss?” 

Jack and Ana turned to each other and wordlessly confirmed their decision. 

“Jesse, you’ll run point,” Jack barked. “Ana and Genji will have your back this meeting. I’ll find something to do until they leave.” 

_Until Reyes leaves_ was left unspoken, but was understood. 

“Got it,” Jesse drawled, tipping his hat. “Any idea who’s comin’ in?” 

“Ogundimu, definitely,” Ana furrowed her brow. “Gabriel likely, given the size of the case, and that he already seems to be involved.” 

“What of my brother?” Genji asked hesitantly. 

“He declined their offer to act as consultant,” Jesse answered, pleased. 

The news met with some relief. 

“He’ll be watching from the bleachers.” 

“Watching us, or watching them?” Genji asked warily. 

Jesse had no answer.

“Doesn’t matter. Brief me on what you’ve so far,” Jack commanded. “I might be sidelined, but hell if I’m gonna let them win this on my watch.” 

\--- 

Talon and Vishkar arrived at exactly 11:00am, no earlier, no later. Jesse and his party greeted them in the conference room. 

“Ana. So good to see you again,” Akande greeted with warm formality as they made their introductions. He shook the hands of the others who were present. “This is Sanjay Korpal and Satya Vaswani from Viskar. And you already know Gabriel.”

The entire room seemed to jump at hearing his name spoken out loud, Reyes noted. It was fair enough. 

“Good to meet you,” Ana smiled. “Good to see you again, Akande.” 

Gabe wasn’t going to bother with shaking their hands, but Jesse walked right in front of him and forced him to do so. The younger man’s expression was glib though, not angry. Gabe took it to mean that his date the evening before (that Sombra had mentioned) had gone well.

“Reyes.” 

“They still haven’t rid of you of that hat?” Gabe snorted. 

“They’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands,” Jesse answered with fake solemnity. 

“That is likely the truth,” Ana nodded. She gave Reyes an enigmatic look. “It is good to see you, Gabriel.” 

“Likewise,” Reyes droned noncommittally. He noticed that Akande was watching his reaction closely, and twisted his lips with annoyance. 

They all took their seats. 

“So what are we lookin’ at?” Reyes began right away.

“Intentional Interference with Contractual Relations,” Jesse answered. “Our client is accusing Vishkar of intentionally interfering with the contact between him and the Staples Center, as well as the audience he promised a show to. This hurt and disrupted the performance, and damaged my client’s reputation amongst his fans and in the music community.” 

“This case has the potential to draw undue media attention, given the sides involved,” Akande replied. “Neither side win in circumstances such as these. Are there terms through which we might negotiate settlement before the trial?”

Jesse nodded. “Viskhar admits that the company purposefully sabotaged my client’s concert to prevent him from speaking against them to an audience of 21,000 people.”

While the answer received several annoyed glares, no one at the other end of the table looked surprised. 

Akande’s lip curled. He almost looked pleased. 

“Surely you know that we cannot agree to such terms.” 

Jesse shrugged and flashed a dangerous smile in return. “Take ‘em or leave ‘em.”

“As you wish,” Akande acquiesced. “You will be seeking a jury, I assume?”

“Now why would you go and assume that?” Jesse would normally treat the opposing lawyers with more respect, but was still silently seething over the texts suggesting Akande was interested in Hanzo.

“Because it is a media circus that you want,” Akande replied coolly, ignoring the sarcasm. “And because you believe you have the will of the people. I should warn you, Mr. dos Santos, that people are fickle beings.” 

He leaned forward, hands crossed in front of him. 

“They crave conflict, although they do not know it. Given the chance to turn against someone, anyone, and they will snatch at it like hungry animals.” 

Lucio looked unimpressed. “Maybe the people you hang around, Mr. Ogundimu. My crew ain’t like that. My team don’t play that way.” 

“Pity,” Akande’s eyes slanted down in mock sympathy. “It is only through conflict that we evolve.” 

“Yeah, I know,” Lucio shot back. “I’ve seen more than my fair share of it growin’ up. That’s why I know it’s gotta stop. Now.” 

Akande huffed, and he seemed amused by the young man’s conviction. 

“How is it that you cannot see we are in agreement?” Satya’s voice crackled with irritation. “Vishkar wants nothing more than a sustained peace.” 

“A peace that _you_ control, with towns and cities full of people who can afford your houses, who can afford to live by your rules,” Lucio countered. “You buy up utilities and choke them off. Funnel them into your areas in the name of ‘development’. Chase out families and communities by making it unlivable. That’s conflict.” 

Satya bristled, but Sanjay put a hand on her arm. 

“Vishkar has heard these allegations before,” Akande cut in. “But certainly this has nothing to do with the case at hand.” 

“Certainly,” Jesse drawled. “Now unless you wanna hand over a document that lets us settle this outta court, one that fits Mr. dos Santos’ terms, then I believe we have some other paperwork to attend to.” 

Akande seem to notice Jesse for the first time, despite the fact that they had exchanged words earlier.

“Certainly,” he echoed. 

After the paperwork was done, their guests stood to leave. 

Akande paused as he shook Jesse’s hand on his way out. 

“Tell me, have you seen Hanzo Shimada recently?” Akande asked, serpentine smile still on his lips. 

“Had dinner with him last night,” Jesse replied, unfazed. His heart began to quicken, but he knew better than to let it show. 

“Excellent. Where did you go? I would not want to take him to the same restaurant when we meet next week.”

 _Don’t take the bait, kid. Don’t take the bait._ Gabe willed silently. 

Jesse flashed him a brilliant smile. “I don’t give out trade secrets, Ogundimu.” 

Akande gave an easy laugh that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Fair enough.”

His eyes slid to regard Genji. 

“I’ve been told you made a full recovery. I am glad to see that this was no exaggeration, beyond the superficial scars at least.”

“You have a good eye for detail, to be able to see them at all,” Genji returned airily, unaffected. “My plastic surgeon did wonders. I’ll send you his name.” 

Reyes bit back a laugh. 

_That’s my boys._

The thought was unbidden, and caught him completely aware. Gabe blinked.

Ana of course, missed nothing. 

“You might ask if they would join you for coffee someday,” she suggested softly. 

Reyes grunted, and waved off her comment without reply.

They entered the lobby to find Hanzo speaking with Emily at the reception desk. Jesse’s face lit up right away. 

“Sweetpea!” 

Akande was closer. He swept in to take Hanzo’s hand in a handshake. Jesse scowled at him, as the Vishkar representatives took their leave. 

“What a pleasant surprise, Hanzo,” Akande intoned. “Are you here to see your brother?”

Hanzo stiffened. “No.”

Gabe could feel the tension seep into Genji’s frame at hearing the answer. 

“My mistake,” Akande apologized smoothly. Reyes knew Akande wasn’t the type to make mistakes. 

“I will still see you still next week?”

Hanzo nodded.

“Excellent. I look forward to it.” Then and only then did Akande release his hand. 

After Talon left, Jesse and Genji scowled at the door. 

“Assholes,” Genji muttered. 

“Language!” Ana barked. 

“What brings you here, darlin’?” Jesse asked, turning his attention away.

Hanzo blinked away the anxiety lacing his features, as though he were trying to strengthen his resolve. “I am here to see if you are free for lunch.” 

Jesse beamed, knowing how difficult it must have been for Hanzo to ask even for this simple thing. “Sure am! Just let me grab my coat.” 

“I’ll come with you.” 

Everyone turned to face Genji. Jesse’s grin faltered. 

“Maybe another time?” Jesse suggested. “I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about, and it’d be best done without me there.” 

“How is it that you have made time to see Akande Ogundimu twice, with Vishkar even, and yet still avoid talking to me, brother?” Genji’s voice was soft but tense. 

“He invited himself to my meeting with Reyes without my knowledge,” Hanzo’s eyes narrowed. “How did you know that both he and Vishkar were there?” 

The colour drained from Genji’s face as he realized his misstep. He turned to Jesse for help. Jesse looked back at him, powerless. Ogundimu hadn’t come up during dinner, so Jesse himself wasn’t even supposed to know. It wasn’t the first time surely that Jesse had cursed Hanzo’s sharp perception, and it certainly would not be the last. 

“We were told,” Jesse answered finally.

“Told?”

“Sombra told us. Said she was paid to do so. You know we’d never send her ourselves.” Jesse’s voice was hurried, panicked. 

Hanzo regarded them for a moment, trying to decide whether or not that was true. To Jesse’s horror, his expression began to close, clouded by self-doubt. He turned to frown at Jesse. “I’ll assume she told you the nature of the meeting as well then. You must realize how suspicious last night seems, in light of this. That you would invite me for dinner so conveniently afterwards.”

“I met with you because I genuinely wanted to see you!” Jesse took a single step forward, holding his hands out. He stopped short of grasping for Hanzo himself, waiting instead to see if the man would meet him half way. 

“I find that hard to believe of anyone,” Hanzo answered dryly, yet there was no heat to it. The words were not accusatory—in fact, Hanzo seemed to be asking, hoping to be disproven. Jesse’s heart skipped a beat at this opportunity. Unfortunately, Genji did not see it. 

Genji muttered a quick phrase in Japanese. 

Hanzo went pale, the uncertainty in his expression hardening to stone. Jesse knew that it wasn’t anger this represented: it was panic. 

“Hanzo…” 

The man swept out the door without another word. 

“…perhaps that was not the best choice of words,” Genji acknowledged, rubbing at the back of his head. 

“The fuck did you say?” Jesse snapped. 

“’That’s what got us into this mess in the first place’,” Genji said sheepishly. He narrowly missed the tissue box that Em threw at him, and nearly dodged Jesse’s mug.


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The incident causing Hanzo to leave is revealed, Akande meets Hanzo for dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, 
> 
> This chapter contains one of the very first scenes that I wrote for this story. The dinner scene was what convinced me that this entire thing might work as a premise, and I hope that it is true! Just a warning: the first section is fairly angsty, so hold onto your hats. The chapter following this will be focused more on the courtroom (I did promise you a lawyer drama, after all). I would love to hear your thoughts, as always! <3

_  
The firm already knew and adored Genji before he had been invited to join as an associate. He was a frequent visitor at the office, and his energy was always contagious. He was quickly recognized as the anthesis of his brother, even by Hanzo himself, but the members of Overwatch had great affection for both of them._

_Genji had been away doing non-profit work in Nepal when Hanzo mentioned to him that the partners were in need of extra associates. He had jumped at the opportunity, and Ana and Jack had agreed he would be an excellent fit._

_Jesse himself knew Genji from law school, where they had been inseparable. Their friendship hadn’t stopped them from a brief and casual fling, however, as they had both been different people back then. They both understood though that it was not a serious relationship, and it had stopped just as abruptly as it had started while their friendship had not._

_In retrospect, knowing Genji, and knowing Hanzo, Jesse should have made this clear to Hanzo immediately. He also should have told Genji right away that he had started dating his older brother just before the younger Shimada’s arrival._

_Instead here they were, drunk off their asses to celebrate Genji’s addition to the firm. Jesse had forgotten that Genji became more affectionate when drunk._

_He had been unable to process what was happening until it was too late, when Genji pressed his entire body against him and suggested loudly, in jest, that they pick up where they had left off. Genji lurched gracelessly forward to press an open-mouthed kiss against Jesse’s lips._

_Jesse’s brain short-circuited, unable to reconcile for a moment that it was the wrong Shimada, and that the right one was currently sitting beside him, their hands previously intertwined on the seat, but the grasp quickly slipping._

_“Jesse!” Lena’s voice was shrill with alarm._

_Jesse pulled forcibly away from Genji in time to see Hanzo trembling, pushing off the table to gain enough momentum to flee._

_Genji blinked in confusion._

_“For fucks sake, Genji!” Jesse snarled._

_The younger Shimada’s expression sobered instantly, although comprehension hit more slowly. “Wait. No. You mean you two finally. Shit.”_

_They shared a look of growing panic before sprinting after Hanzo._

_Hanzo hadn’t gotten far. He was several blocks down, leaning against a wall like he had collapsed against it._

_“Sweetheart,” Jesse breathed a small sigh of relief in finding him. “It wasn’t what it looked like.”_

_He grasped Hanzo’s hands, but was violently denied. Hanzo stood, head down, arm raised to indicate they should stay away. They stood in silence. And just as if nothing had passed, Hanzo looked up._

_“I apologize. I reacted badly.” His voice was cold, the one he used when cross examining the most difficult witnesses._

_“No brother, that was stupid of me,” Genji cut in. “I was just having fun.”_

_Genji and Jesse both knew that kisses for Hanzo were not just for fun._

_Hanzo did not answer._

_“I didn’t know—“ Genji tried again._

_“The two of you were close before,” Hanzo interrupted, not seeming to have noticed that his brother had spoken at all._

_Genji and Jesse remained silent._

_“Of course,” Hanzo nodded, confirming the answer in their lack of response. He drew himself upwards, every single muscle in his body tightening in the act._

_“Never seriously,” Genji shook his head.” You knew what I was like.”_

_“I…”_

_“Hanzo…” Jesse peered at Hanzo with concern when he didn’t finish his sentence._

_“I have never figured it out.”_

_Genji and Jesse waited._

_“Relationships,” Hanzo explained, face cracking into the wrong kind of smile. “It was always what you did best. I was too concerned with the company.”_

_“Because they forced you,” Genji insisted. “They raised you to know nothing else. But we’re free now, aniki. You have made friends here.”_

_“Yes. Friends.” Hanzo repeated._

_“That’s not what I meant—“ Genji protested._

_Hanzo blinked rapidly a few times before looking up again. “I won’t make this difficult. I wish you both every happiness.”_

_“Goddammit, Hanzo, just stop and listen,” Jesse pleaded. “I have no interest in your brother. You’re the one I want!”_

_“You couldn’t possibly.” Hanzo’s voice was steady, but his sentences were short to compensate._

_“Darlin’—“_

_“If faced with such a choice, of course you couldn’t. It couldn’t possibly be me.”_

_Jesse felt his heart crack under the pressure weighing down Hanzo’s words, the unrestrained hurt that he had never heard before in Hanzo’s voice._

_Genji’s expression showed he must have felt the same._

_“No, aniki—“_

_Hanzo had run out of words, so they had run out of time. He bolted into the street. Genji blindly followed._

_Hanzo had seen the oncoming car. Genji had not._

_\---_

_Hanzo had stayed until Genji regained consciousness, days later. He sat in the one chair beside the hospital bed, grasping at Genji’s hand as though it were a lifeline, speaking to no one, even when addressed directly._

_The day Genji woke up, the brothers had an argument in a language that no one else understood, which had left Genji in tears. Hanzo did not return after that. They learned from Genji later, that his brother had taken the blame entirely upon himself, and had left the city as penance._

_When Genji was discharged from the hospital, he left for Nepal, returning a few months later in better spirits, and with a Nepalese monk. Jesse found no such catharsis._  
  
\--- 

It felt too familiar in entirely the wrong way to Jesse, running through the streets, desperately praying that Hanzo had not gotten far. 

“Hanzo!”

Jesse caught a glimpse of the man’s blue shirt just about to turn a corner. To his surprise, the man stopped. 

Jesse stopped a foot away and held out his hand. Hanzo looked down at it, but made no motion to take it. 

Jesse swallowed. 

“I can’t make you believe me,” he admitted. “I can only tell you what I know to be true.” 

Hanzo met his gaze. “It was difficult to return. I told myself that I would try to be honest, to both myself and to you all, about how I felt, and what I’d done.” 

“And you’re doin’ great, sweetpea,” Jesse tried to smile, but knew he was failing. 

“I am not,” Hanzo frowned. “I cannot talk to my brother. I cannot trust your intentions, even though I want to. It’s as he said, what got us here in the first place.” 

“It is not,” Jesse stood firm on this. “You’re not to blame for what happened.” 

He sighed, looking down at his own hands. “You’re trying, and I can appreciate how hard that is. Maybe I’ve just not given you enough reason to trust me.”

Hanzo huffed. “When it comes to relationships, you are guileless, McCree.”

It sounded like a compliment. Jesse took a small step forward. 

“How can I make you stay?”

“You can’t, I’m afraid.” Despite the devastating words, Hanzo finally reached forward to hold Jesse’s hands. “It is on me to believe you. To believe I am worthy of it.” 

“Of what?”

“Everything,” Hanzo answered vaguely. “Anything.” 

“Hanzo…”

“Give me some time,” Hanzo tried. 

“You’re worthy,” Jesse murmured, taking another step forward to press his forehead to Hanzo’s. “Of everything. I’d give you the world if I could. The sun, moon and stars.” 

Hanzo took a long, steadying breath, and took a step back.

“I need time,” Hanzo repeated regretfully. 

“Alright,” Jesse took a reluctant step back as well, but did not let go of Hanzo’s hands. “Can I see you again?” 

Hanzo blinked before nodding. “I would like that.”

Jesse smiled, and pressed a kiss to Hanzo’s hand. “Me too.”

He frowned at a sudden thought. 

“What is it?” Hanzo inquired. 

Jesse hesitated, wondering whether he should mention his concerns. “Just…be careful ‘round Ogundimu.” 

“You dislike him,” Hanzo stated simply, knowing it was true.

Jesse snorted. “Understatement.”

“Because of the Vishkar case?”

“Dos Santos,” Jesse corrected him. It made his chest hurt that Hanzo thought of the case from the other side. “Yeah some. But more so because he’s sweet on you.” 

“What.” 

“…you’re kiddin’ me,” Jesse stared blankly at the wall in front of him. “You couldn’t tell?”

“He’s not.”

“He very much is.” 

“He is trying to recruit me as a partner for his firm, Jesse,” Hanzo answered wryly. “I think you’ve misunderstood his use of the term.” 

“Oh, I understand it fine,” Jesse sulked. 

Hanzo huffed. “You have no need to worry.” 

Jesse fretted silently. Hanzo squeezed his hand. “If I do not agree to meet him, then I cannot turn him down.”

“You’re still talking about partnership. Not _partnership_.” 

“You worry needlessly,” Hanzo assured him. That Hanzo was still unwilling to admit though that Akande could be interested in him continued to weigh dreadfully in Jesse’s stomach.

“But you’re still gonna meet him by yourself?”

Hanzo frowned. “He seems genuinely interested in my friendship.”

“He’s Talon!”

“As is Reyes, and I consider him my friend,” Hanzo stood firm. “I must believe that people can be different than they seem, in order to hold out hope for myself as well.”

“Alright.” Jesse couldn’t argue with that, if it was an idea that helped Hanzo through his own self-doubt. “Just…promise me you’ll be careful, darlin’.”

“I always am,” Hanzo reminded him. “I will see you another day?”

“Lookin’ forward to it,” Jesse promised. He watched Hanzo disappear from view before returning to the office, dejected.

\--- 

Reyes looked down to check his phone. 

**Sombra:** Your boys fucked up.

He let out a long, hissing breath. 

“Something wrong?” Akande asked. 

“No. So you’re gonna try convincing Hanzo by yourself?”

Akande allowed for the change in subject even though Reyes was clearly lying. 

“Yes. He deserves to be wooed directly, does he not?” 

“What are you wooing him for?” 

Akande stopped and turned to face Reyes. “You’ve taken a great interest in this matter.” 

“Because you’re distracted,” Reyes snapped. “I’ve seen shit like this before. It’s always distracting.” 

“Yes, fortunate, isn’t it?” Akande turned away with a smirk and continued walking.

Reyes’ eyes shot daggers at the back of Ogundimu’s head. 

\--- 

**Reaper** : When info on dinner with the dragon comes up, send it to the ingrate.

 **Sombra:** Can’t you do it?

 **Reaper:** What do I pay you for?

\--- 

When Jesse returned to the office, his favourite donut was sitting in a box on his desk. He snorted. 

“That’s somethin’, at least,” he called out into the hall. 

Moments later, Genji peeked around the corner of his door. He treaded lightly into the office, placing a cup of fresh coffee next to the box. 

“I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault,” Jesse assured him. Nonetheless, he sank into his chair, shoulders slumping forward in defeat. 

“Did you find him?”

“Yeah.” Jesse sat up enough to open the box and took a bite out of the donut. 

“Is he alright?” Genji pressed anxiously. 

Jesse wondered at the best answer, but his hesitancy was enough. Genji deflated. 

“I shouldn’t have let my anger best me.”

“It’s been hard on you too, I know,” Jesse sighed, looking into his coffee cup for answers. “But he just needs a bit of time.” 

Genji nodded. 

“Besides, I’m pretty sure you were baited,” Jesse scowled. 

“Likely,” Genji nodded with a frown. “We will have to be careful around Ogundimu.”

“Yeah. In the courtroom as well.”

“I was _talking_ about the courtroom.” 

“Of course you were,” Jesse corrected himself.

Genji didn’t look like he believed him. 

\--- 

As Hanzo prepared for his dinner with Akande, he couldn’t help but remember Jesse’s warning, as unnecessary as it was. At the same time, the restaurant that the Talon lawyer had chosen was one of the best in the city. The man had offered to pick him up from his hotel as well, which Hanzo had politely declined. Hanzo told himself that these were just the decisions of a senior partner trying to put his best foot forward while recruiting, but he did begin to wonder himself at the man’s true intentions. 

Hanzo arrived at the restaurant ten minutes early to find that Akande already at the table. 

"Hanzo." The tall man stood and extended his arm. Hanzo grasped it for a firm hand shake. "Thank you for coming." 

Hanzo nodded, eyes darting to observe Akande's attire. Even though he was always smartly dressed, Hanzo could tell that the man had put extra effort into his outfit this evening. The fine silk collared shirt hugged the lines of his arms and chest a bit more tightly than would be appropriate for a client dinner, and the pants sculpted around his ass and legs so well, it must have been bespoke.

Akande was far more open with his inspection, his eyes lingering appreciatively at Hanzo's own well-fitted shirt, his gaze sliding a bit too far down to examine his ass, then fixing steady again on Hanzo's chest. 

Well. 

Hanzo frowned. "You look good this evening," he nodded before taking his seat. Akande waited until he was fully seated before joining him, out of courtesy. "I begin to wonder though whether you own anything other than suits." 

"We all dress to escape misconceptions," Akande's lips turned up to form a slow smile. "I, for instance, dress so that I am not seen as a monosyllabic oaf. And you?" 

"I dress to show that I am no longer practicing law," Hanzo answered drily. 

Akande's laughter was slow, booming, calculated. 

"Fair enough." 

Hanzo picked up his menu to stall any further small talk on their appearance. Akande did the same.

"I would like to order a bottle of sparkling water to share." Akande glanced up to judge Hanzo's reaction, despite not really asking a question. 

Hanzo nodded once. "As you like." 

He turned his eyes back to the heavy leather-bound menu, completely aware that the other man was still observing him intently. He refused to look up.

Akande had ordered the water, and a bottle of fine red wine. He swirled the glass before taking an initial taste of it, and took a small sip before nodding for the waiter to pour the full glass. Hanzo accepted the wine when it was offered to him as well. 

While Hanzo was not a stranger to fine restaurants, he only ever came to such places with clients. He couldn’t escape the feeling though: something about the entire arrangement this evening suggested this wasn't completely a business dinner. He decided to test it. 

"So you have terms for me?" Hanzo asked immediately after the waiter left. 

Akande raised an eyebrow. "We have all evening to discuss terms."

He raised his wine glass. Hanzo did likewise, and the glasses clinked together above the tea light candle in the middle of the table.

"What else is there to discuss?" 

That slow smile began to pull at the corners of Akande's lips again. "Plenty."

\---

Meanwhile, Jesse was lying sprawled out on his sofa, two beers deep into his evening alone, feeling morose, knowing that Hanzo had plans with Ogundimu. 

A ping from his phone roused him from self-pity. 

**Unknown:** Hey. _Pendejo._ Where you at?

Then, a few seconds later: 

**Unknown:** NM. Doesn't matter. You *want* to be at L'abbatoir. Right now. Clean up and iron a shirt. 

Jesse frowned at Sombra’s messages. Why would he want to be at that snobby, overpriced—

Another ping brought his attention to a texted photo. Jesse was struck by the elegant way in which Hanzo was lifting the wine glass in the picture, the refined tilt of his head to acknowledge the man sitting across from him. 

Jesse tried to swallow down the anger collecting in his chest. While he wasn’t happy with the situation, showing up felt like an overstepping of boundaries. It would suggest that he didn’t trust Hanzo, and that wasn’t the impression Jesse wanted to convey at all. 

**Unknown:** Have you left yet?

Another picture arrived, this time, of Hanzo lifting his glass even higher to hide his laughter. Ogundimu was leaning in, his hand stretched as though it were ready to reach for Shimada’s.

Jesse had never ironed a shirt so fast in his life.

\---

"You are a man of good taste," Akande observed after their food orders had been placed. 

"You chose the restaurant," Hanzo pointed out. 

"But you knew exactly what you wanted, and exactly how you wanted it," Akande's deep voice dipped even further, dripping with suggestion. 

"So we've arrived at the discussion of terms then?" Hanzo asked with some impatience. 

"So eager," Akande took another sip of wine. "I had not thought you would be considering Talon's offer so seriously."

"I am not," Hanzo snapped with even more bite. "I simply dislike dancing around the point."

"Yet another thing I admire in you, another thing we have in common." 

Hanzo frowned, not deigning the praise even worthy of response. While most would have found the silence rude, Akande seemed to find it delightful.

"Very well. I am here to speak to you honestly."

Hanzo sat up, taking a sip of his own wine. Finally. Akande would propose that he join Talon, so that Hanzo could tell him no, and they could be done with these frivolities once and for all.

"I couldn't care less if you joined Talon or not." 

Hanzo stiffened.

Akande watched his reaction with interest. It seemed to please him. 

"I find your decision to return incredibly brave. Your ability to stand tall amidst adversity, to stand firm in your choices despite pressure from friends and family is…"

"Foolish?" Hanzo supplied with a huff. 

"Incredibly desirable," Akande finished. He leaned in, eyes narrowing to match his seductive smile.

Oh. 

Oh no. 

Hanzo was really more upset that Jesse had been right than by Akande's openly expressed interest. 

“That is flattering.” Hanzo sat back in his chair to create more distance. “But I am not currently looking for a relationship.” 

“Is it that you are not looking, or that you do not believe that you deserve one?”

Hanzo frowned. The man was perceptive. 

Akande read the suspicion in Hanzo’s gaze. Instead of deflating, however, his eyes began to glitter with the euphoria promised by only the most difficult court cases. 

“You have been hurt. It was no one’s fault, perhaps, but that is still the truth. There is a history, a wound that time has not healed. You’ve returned in search of family, in search of love, and a place to belong, and yet this pain still holds you back.” Akande reached forward to take Hanzo’s hand in his own, something that he had tried earlier in the evening, but had been subtly denied. Hanzo continued to frown, but allowed it this time. Akande beamed. 

“Perhaps then the solution is simpler than you think. Perhaps the solution is to stop longing for those ghosts of past selves, past relationships, and to start over.” 

Hanzo had practiced various rejections in his mind, and they had seemed simple when he thought he was turning down an offer to join Talon. Yet now, faced with Akande’s molten desire and determination, he began to wonder whether there was not some truth to the man’s words. 

Seeing that Hanzo had not interrupted, Akande continued. “And while old friends might want what’s best for you, you might consider whether their perception might be clouded by their own selfishness. Take Jesse McCree, for example.”

There were many idioms that Hanzo never really understood (as he had no use for colloquialisms, and preferred using words that reflected exact meaning), and "speak of the devil" was one of them. Never really understood, that is, until this very moment, when he saw Jesse McCree stalking towards their table from the corner of his eye. Akande turned to follow Hanzo's gaze, and the smile fell right off his face. Hanzo retracted his hand at once.

"Evenin', Hanzo. Akande. Fancy seein' you here," Jesse drawled. His hair was smoothed back, so that his eyes were unobstructed—all the better to shoot Akande a look of pure hatred. 

"McCree. What an inconvenience," Akande intoned. The hatred in Jesse's eyes intensified. 

"Did I say inconvenience?” The Talon lawyer continued listlessly. “I must have meant coincidence." 

Jesse bared his teeth. 

Hanzo sighed, and he raised a hand to the bridge of his nose. The situation had already been stressful enough without McCree’s intervention. “What are you doing here, Jesse?”

“What most do at fine establishments such as these.” 

“They gave you a reservation?” Akande continued to look unimpressed. 

“If your name’s here on their list, then looks like they’ll give anyone a table these days,” Jesse replied with a snide smirk. 

Akande regarded the Overwatch lawyer for a moment before drawing a sharp breath to continue. “Tell me, had you a plan?” 

“A plan?” 

“A plan of attack, after so rudely interrupting our date.” Akande smiled when Jesse flinched at the word. “Or were you going to as you say, ‘wing it’, as though this were one of your court cases?” 

“You sonnuva—“ 

“I apologize for the interruption, but is everything alright here?” Their waiter had returned with their food, and was now staring at the heated conversation, as was most of the restaurant. Hanzo continued to rub at his temple to ward off the pain that was throbbing insistently there. 

“No, but thank you.” He gestured in front of him to indicate that the waiter should deliver their plates and go. The waiter looked caught between wanting to obey, and wanting to stop the scene that they were making. Hanzo flashed him a tired smile. “I assure you, they will no longer be a bother.” 

After the waiter nodded and left, Hanzo shot Jesse and Akande the most devastating glare he could manage. Jesse had the good sense to deflate like a wounded puppy. Akande, on the other hand, had the gall to look even _more_ turned on than before. Hanzo flushed under the heat of his gaze. 

Jesse watched their interaction and bit back a snarl. 

“Cease!” Hanzo snapped. Jesse froze. Even Akande sat back and raised his hands in surrender, although the coy smile never left his lips. 

“The two of you insist on making a scene, and I refuse to be a part of it,” Hanzo hissed under his breath. 

“I am not participating in a scene. We were having such a pleasant time together before we were so rudely interrupted,” Akande answered smoothly. “We can continue to do so once your friend leaves.”

“As his friend, I’m onto your bullshit,” Jesse shot back, although in a softer tone. “And I’m askin’ you to step off.”

“Hanzo is here at my request. _You_ are the interruption.” Akande’s voice was low, but dangerous. 

Hanzo observed their conversation with disdain, but internally, he panicked. He could see case that Akande was building: flawless, crushing as always, and had to admire it. If Jesse pushed any further, Hanzo would have to agree. He would have to be the one to tell Jesse to leave, and Jesse would be heartbroken. 

Hanzo continued to frown, silently considering his options until the solution struck him. The two men were still bickering. 

“Are you both quite done?” Hanzo cut in, voice as stiff as a taut string, despite the ferocity with which his heart was beating clear through his chest. He wondered if either man could hear it. “Because I am.” 

Jesse and Akande turned abruptly to face him as he stood. 

“When you two have finished measuring dicks, no, *if* that were ever to happen, then you may consider calling me again. Don’t bother until then.” 

He walked calmly from the restaurant, not turning back despite pleas from both men. 

Jesse gave a whimper that he hoped no one else heard. At least he had stopped their dinner, but at what cost? 

“What does it feel like?”

Jesse turned again to face Akande upon hearing the question. 

“What does it feel like,” Akande repeated. “To have everything that you touch turn to shit?” 

Jesse nearly rose to the challenge, until he realized that the other man’s voice was trembling with quiet rage. His own anger dissipated instantly as he counted this his victory. 

“Wouldn’t know,” he answered airily. “You gotta tell me some day.” 

He flashed Akande a two-fingered salute like Lena taught him as he turned to leave. 

“You will lose.” 

Jesse stopped, but didn’t turn around. 

“You will lose because you have already lost.” 

“He might not be workin’ with us, but he sure as hell ain’t workin’ with you either, pardner.” 

“Who said anything about work?” Akande smirked. 

Jesse grit his teeth, but kept walking.

\--- 

Hanzo made a point of turning off his phone that evening, and found that he had missed 13 text messages and two calls when he checked the next morning. Twelve of the texts were from Jesse, and were various pleas for forgiveness. One text was from Akande: a short, simple apology, and an offer to try dinner again at a time that was convenient for Hanzo.

One of the missed calls was from Jesse, and was attached to a drunk voicemail that had been recorded at 3:00am. The other call was in fact not from Akande, but Genji, who had left a voicemail at 3:13am, grumbling about how he regretted ever giving Jesse his number, and making some half-hearted threat against Hanzo’s life if the two of them didn’t work things out soon. 

Hanzo huffed a sigh into his pillow. Perhaps, in retrospect, it was foolish of him not to have seen Akande’s interest. In his own defense, however, he had little experience with admirers and relationships. When he was younger, he had been told his only priority was his family business, and he had believed them. Friends were unnecessary and excessive, something better suited for his wayward brother. When it had come down to it though, he had chosen Genji over the company, leaving to work in LA so that he would be able to support Genji’s own law studies after the younger Shimada had been cut off by their family. 

And while Hanzo would not change a thing if given the chance to do it all over again, joining Amari, Morrison & Reyes had been like landing on a different planet. His detachment was one of many qualities that made Hanzo good at what he did. It was not something he could maintain at the firm for long, especially after Jesse arrived. Hanzo pressed a smile into the blanket, remembering their dinner from the other evening.

Leaving this new family had been far more difficult than leaving the Shimada, yet staying would have been unthinkable after the incident. Returning had been near impossible as well, but Hanzo was familiar with obstacles of this magnitude. His life was a series of ridiculous situations, and each time he had conquered them. It was with this tenuous comfort, and the recollection of Jesse’s pleading eyes, but also, oddly, Akande’s determined words, that he made a new decision. 

\--- 

**Sweetpea:** Hello. 

Jesse nearly fell off the couch when he received this simple text. The phone slipped from his hand and onto his face. 

He took a minute to recompose himself before replying. 

**Jesse:** Sweetheart! Get my texts?

 **Sweetpea:** Yes. All 12 of them. Can I call? 

Jesse started so violently that he did indeed fall off the couch this time. 

**Jesse:** Of course!

His phone began to ring right away, and Jesse pushed the button to answer. 

“Hi there!” Jesse scrambled to sit on the couch again.

“Hello.” Hanzo’s voice sounded amused, likely at Jesse’s excitement. 

“Listen, sweetpea, I’m sorry about—“

“Yes, you have already said that. Several times.” Definitely still amused. 

“I’m not sorry for comin’ by though,” Jesse clarified. “I still think he’s after you.” 

“You are not incorrect,” Hanzo admitted.

“Nor am I incorrect, however, in pointing out that you are worrying without cause,” Hanzo added, likely picking up on the devastation just in Jesse’s silence. “I am not ready for a relationship.” 

“Oh.” While Jesse knew that Hanzo had said this to make him feel better, it made him feel worse. 

“There is another relationship that I need to mend first.” 

The phone nearly fell out of Jesse’s hand in his excitement. “You mean Genji?”

“…yes.” 

There was a pause. 

“When I left the Shimada, it was to support my true family. It would be foolish to abandon him now instead. Akande helped me to realize this.” 

Jesse was practically vibrating, despite the mention of Ogundimu. He knew how important this would be for Hanzo, and how difficult it was for him to come to this decision. “I’m proud of you, Honeybee. I’ve got your back on this.” 

Hanzo made a sound that was almost affectionate. “I know that you do, and am grateful. It would help though if you could restrain your hatred for Akande. Particularly in public places.” 

Jesse scowled into the phone. 

“Jesse.” 

“Alright, darlin’, but only for you.”

“Thank you.” Hanzo sounded as though he did not mean it lightly. “I do require your aid in one other matter.” 

“Name it!” 

There was another short pause. 

“I am looking into monthly rental apartments. Can I get your opinion on a few?”

“…hello?”

Jesse only realized he had forgotten to respond, and really, forgotten to breathe when prompted. 

“Yes! Yeah, sure! But you know I got an empty room in mine, if you’re interested.”

“ _Jesse_.”

“I’m serious!” McCree insisted.

Hanzo huffed into the mouthpiece of his phone. “Thank you, but no. Your help, however, would be appreciated.”

It was the answer that Jesse had been expecting, but he couldn’t help but feel disappointed. “Can’t fault me for trying. I’d be happy to help. Send me the links.”

Jesse jumped up from his place on the floor and began to pace, anxious but ecstatic. He hoped this meant what he thought it meant. 

\--- 

Akande was oddly pleasant on Friday morning. Gabe was immediately suspicious. 

“You’re in a mood.” 

Akande flashed him a bright smile. “Hanzo is looking for an apartment to rent.” 

“Huh.” Reyes considered the information for a moment. “Sombra tell you?”

“No,” Akande’s smile grew wider. “He told me himself.”


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to enter the courtroom!  
> But what does Akande have up his sleeve?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> I apologize for the lack of updates in general: life has been a bit crazy.  
> Thank you for your patience <3 
> 
> This chapter is a bit courtroom heavy. I am curious to hear your thoughts on the logic of what happens in the case, and also on Hanzo's dilemma here. Or on anything else, really: I love hearing from you! Thank you for reading! <3

Jesse had little time to spend with Hanzo leading up to the dos Santos trial date, but took solace in the fact that Ogundimu must have been equally busy. They did manage to share some moments: Hanzo would bring coffee or take-out to Jesse’s apartment if he was working too late, they would grab an early morning coffee before Jesse arrived at the office. Jesse would have felt more confident in these moments together without the knowledge that Hanzo was meeting with the Talon lawyer as well, although Hanzo insisted it was in friendship.

“You enjoy his company?” Jesse had asked one evening, incredulous. 

Hanzo had frowned and retreated into himself, and Jesse knew better than to ask again.

Their first court date arrived quickly, but the team felt ready. Ana, Genji and Jesse arrived with Lucio, fighting their way through the crowds and reporters. 

“Sorry for the mayhem,” Lucio said sheepishly once they were safely inside the courthouse. 

“Naw, it’s what we signed up for,” Jesse waved his concern away. They took their seat at the plaintiff’s table.

Talon and Viskhar were already in the room. Jesse greeted them with a tip of his hat, as it was only polite. 

He wondered why Akande was standing by the door instead of at his table, but didn’t have to wonder long. Hanzo walked in and the Talon lawyer swept him up, to Jesse’s frustration. 

“Hanzo! Welcome to the ring!” Akande greeted him warmly, using both hands in his hand shake. Hanzo looked amused. 

“Do you not have preparations to attend to?”

Akande laughed. “If I’ve left anything unprepared at this stage, I’ve already lost.” 

Hanzo smiled in appreciation at his answer. 

“You alright, man? You’re about to crush that mug with your bare hands,” Lucio noted. 

“S’alright, we order them in bulk,” Jesse muttered through clenched teeth. 

“That’s ‘hot as fuck’, isn’t it?” Lucio asked. 

“Beg pardon?” 

“From the first day we met in the office,” Lucio explained. 

Jesse searched his memory. “Oh!” 

He blushed as Lucio flashed him an impish grin. 

“It’s alright man. It’ll work out.” 

“Yeah, I hope so,” McCree admitted. 

“I know it will!” Lucio insisted. “Cuz this entire time he was supposed to be talking to the big guy, he’s been looking at you.” 

Jesse’s head snapped up to confirm this was true. Hanzo blinked as he was caught staring, before giving him a sheepish smile and turning back to Ogundimu. Jesse’s heart skipped a beat. 

The judge was announced to arrive moments later, and everyone took their places. While he didn’t turn to look, Jesse could feel that Hanzo had seated himself on Talon’s side of the courtroom, which is likely where Akande had left him. He tried not to let it get to him. 

Court was called to order, and the initial formalities were completed. Jesse stood to make his opening statement, walking towards the front of the courtroom with a friendly smile. 

“Distinguished members of the jury, we’re here today to address whether a big company has committed a seemingly small wrong. Now, we’ve all seen plenty of things in our lives that we can’t control, plenty of problems that are beyond our pay grade. You have the chance today to make some small difference in one of these issues.” 

Jesse paced slowly in front of the room, movements easy and confident. 

“Imagine a company that controls 87% of the city’s utilities. Well, you don’t actually have to imagine very hard. That company exists, and is being represented in the courtroom today. I’m not saying that this is necessarily a bad thing. Unless this company gets in their head that only a certain portion of the city should receive these resources. Unless it prices these utilities out of the reach of those communities already in progress in order to force them out and replace them with other folks who are able to pay, who are of the demographic they want. Unless this company threatens to shut down free speech even, through its control of the things that should be easily available to all. It’s this last point we’re gonna try to stop today.” 

Jesse’s eyes met Hanzo’s. The man gave him an encouraging smile. Jesse returned it before continuing. 

“My client has long been a voice against the wrongs done by the Vishkar Corporation. But even if you don’t believe in his point of view, you might consider whether you agree with the tactics we’re trying to prove were used here. The inhibition of free speech, which has been a right in this country from the very beginning. Where do we stand if we let a corporation dictate who’s allowed to speak? This matter deserves attention, but we’re limited in the ways that we can bring the court’s attention to it. However, if we can prove malicious intent, then we’re taking a step in the right direction, towards preventing things like this from happening again, so that we can ensure freedom of speech, and the freedom to live, for all our citizens in this city.”

Jesse nodded to the judge before taking his seat again. Akande stood up right as he sat down, and walked to the front of the room.

“Distinguished members of the jury, I believe the case is even simpler than how Mr. McCree presents. We are here to evaluate whether my client intentionally tampered with the electricity in the Staples Center on the evening of September 23. Everything else, is as they say, smoke and mirrors.” 

While Jesse had paced the room casually, Akande’s every step felt planned. He was in control of the space. It reminded Jesse of Hanzo’s courtroom presence, which was an upsetting comparison. McCree’s eyes slid to observe Hanzo and found that his eyes were fixed on the Talon lawyer, his expression unreadable. Something in Jesse’s chest tightened, but he swallowed it down. 

“Performers in the entertainment industry cultivate a brand identity. It just so happens that Mr. dos Santos’ public face is one that speaks to those who are marginalized, who already have an existing grievance against corporations such as Vishkar. Mr. dos Santos fuels these sentiments, and feeds from them. Whether he believes in them or not, is a separate issue.” 

Jesse could feel Lucio stiffen at the accusation. 

“Mr. McCree used the word ‘attention’ earlier, which I find particularly telling of their approach. You will likely hear the plaintiff claim that he has no interest in his lost profit, which will be entirely true. His interest is in maintaining his brand, one that thrives on discontent. We are simply here to prove today that Vishkar Corporation has nothing to do with the Staples Center mishap, which will be easy enough. Mr. dos Santos is here to maintain his credibility as a performer for the disenfranchised masses. To help him promote this image, at the expense of Viskhar’s. Keep this in mind in today’s proceedings.” 

Akande nodded towards the judge and took his seat. 

Jesse shared a look with Ana and Genji. Akande’s approach was not unexpected, but the delivery of his first blow was impressive. Jesse was about to turn to gauge Hanzo’s reaction again, but Genji kicked him under the table. Jesse nodded at him, thankful for the prompt.

It was Jesse’s turn again to call attention to witnesses and evidence. He stood to stand in front of the room. They called their first witness, Torbjorn Lindholm.

Jesse approached the stand with a friendly smile. 

“Mr. Lindholm, can you please repeat to the court your profession?”

“Surely. I am the city’s head electrician.” 

“And how long have you held this position, Mr. Lindholm?”

“Pretty close to fifteen years, I imagine,” Torbjorn replied. 

“So you’ve been overseein’ the electricity of this fine city since Vishkar took operation of it?”

“That is correct.” 

“Since Vishkar has taken over, how many power outages have there been in the downtown core?” 

“Record’s been pretty clean,” Torbjorn reported. “Only ever been the two since Vishkar became provider.” 

Jesse nodded. 

“I’d like to enter into evidence Exhibit A, a document detailing Vishkar’s records of maintaining service in the downtown area. A remarkable track record too, with just two small blemishes. The second is of course, why we’re here: the power failure at the Staples Center the night of September 23. The first, was at Eagle Ridge Hospital, six years ago.” 

“Now if you’ve never heard of Eagle Ridge, I wouldn’t blame ya. It was a small institution with barely enough funding to stay open, and it served those who were most hard hit in this area, those who couldn’t always afford to pay. It had a team dedicated to doin’ so, despite the costs. Doctors and nurses and support staff who helped because help was needed. Unfortunately, y’all don’t remember it ‘cause it no longer exists. I’d like to enter into evidence Exhibit B, a current day photograph of the address where that hospital stood.” 

A projector turned on to show a photograph of a fairly new high-rise building with expensive shops on the bottom floor. 

“See, when the electricity went out, there was a minor media sensation, about how the hospital was too old, too worn-down to handle matters of life and death. So it was shut down, and Vishkar put up this new building in its place. Convenient.”

“Objection, your honour,” Akande cut in. 

The judge nodded. “Mr. McCree, how is this relevant?” 

“Might not be on first glance, your honour,” Jesse answered smoothly. “But it is somethin’ to take into consideration. Context is important. But to save everyone’s time, I got no further questions.” 

Jesse nodded slightly to Akande as they traded places on the floor. 

Akande leaned in with a smirk when he passed Jesse. “This will be over quickly.” 

An edge of challenge and defiance seeped into Jesse’s smile, but he said nothing.

Ogundimu approached the witness. “Mr. Lindholm, you’ve were also head electrician before Vishkar began its tenure as the city’s provider for electricity?” 

Torbjorn nodded. “Ten years before.” 

“And in this time, how often did electrical outages occur in the downtown core?” 

The engineer scrunched his nose. “These sorta things are commonplace. Or used to be, at least. In fact, my crew used to have a hell of a time doin’ damage control whenever the power went out, which is just a reality in a city as large an’ dense as ours. But ever since Vishkar took over, I’d say the outages have become far less.” 

“How much less, if you were to estimate?” Akande questioned.

The man thought again. “As much as 80%.” 

A murmur rose from the crowd. 

Akande exaggerated a look of thoughtfulness. “So one might say that this utility has greatly improved since Vishkar’s involvement?”

“Oh yes.” 

Akande turned to the judge. “No further questions, your honour.” 

Jesse took the floor again, this time calling Sanjay Korpal to the stand. 

“Mr. Korpal, please tell the court what you do at Vishkar.”

“I am the lead engineer in the Los Angeles area.”

“What role regarding public relations do you play, Mr. Korpal?”

“I often speak on behalf of my company for its work in this region.”

“And does your company currently have a position on Mr. dos Santos?” Jesse continued. 

Korpal seemed neither surprised nor upset by the question. In fact, he smiled. 

“Our company encourages free speech as a means through which we might all improve.”

“Fascinatin’,” Jesse hummed. “Especially since we have on record multiple times your company’s displeasure with my client and his views. Some accounts from members of your own staff.”

“My staff are also allowed their own opinion,” Korpal replied. He furrowed his brow in thought. “What I don’t understand though is Mr. dos Santos’ unilateral condemnation for every aspect of our company.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Jesse thought he could see a gradual, smug smile spreading across Ogundimu’s face. It made him uneasy. 

“…especially since we are the ones who so generously lent him some of the technology that he uses at his concerts.”

The commotion from the audience was so loud that the judge had to call for order. Jesse’s eyes widened and he turned quickly to Lucio, who was looking pale. Ana was whispering urgently in his ear, but the man did not seem to hear. Jesse’s eyes slid by reflex to Hanzo. The man was still unreadable, and Jesse began to wonder whether it was just the effect of Hanzo’s excellent poker face, or whether Hanzo had _known_. The possibility of the latter made his stomach clench. 

“Well that’s unexpected,” Jesse tried to calm the crowd with another smile. “I’d like to request a recess, given the fuss this comment has raised.”

The judge nodded. “We’ll reconvene in fifteen minutes. I’d like to see both sides in my office, in the meantime.”

“So that was true?” Jesse asked in a lowered voice once he returned to his table. 

Lucio looked at him helplessly. “I didn’t think it’d come up.”

“You didn’t think it’d come up?” Genji repeated with disbelief.

“It’s a bit complicated,” Lucio admitted. 

“We don’t really got time for complicated,” Jesse sighed. “Alright. I’m gonna try to buy us a few more days, and you’re gonna have to tell me if there’s any other possibility for surprise, pardner.” 

Lucio nodded. They stood to retreat to the back room together. 

“That information was intentionally planted so that it wouldn’t need to be brought up during discovery,” Jesse stated right away once the door had closed. 

“If it was a surprise to you, then perhaps the better question is why were you not better prepared?” Akande replied smoothly. 

“That doesn’t erase the fact that was intentional,” Jesse accused. 

“Like much of your evidence so far, the statement my client made was only tangentially related to the case,” Akande smiled at Jesse. Jesse clenched his jaw. “He was making a casual comment, and comments of this sort do not need to be formally entered during discovery.” 

“Enough,” The judge barked, raising a hand to her head. 

“Your honour, I’d like extra time to consider the implications of this new information,” Jesse tried. 

“I am struggling to see the relevance of this information to either side,” The judge answered bluntly. She turned to glare at each set of lawyers in turn. “We are here to decide whether Vishkar intentionally cut power to Mr. dos Santos’ concert, are we not?” 

“Of course,” Akande answered.

“No doubt,” Jesse replied as well. “But my client’s reputation and link to Vishkar influences his view of this intentionality.” 

“You’ve not yet completed your own case and are now arguing for us?” Akande inquired with amusement. 

“Five days.” Jesse ignored Ogundimu’s taunt. “Not long at all in a case of this size.” 

The judge hesitated. “Alright. Five days. But this is a warning that I’m giving both sides: do not waste the court’s time.”

The lawyers nodded. The judge announced her decision once court had assembled again, and everyone was dismissed for the day. 

Hanzo was still sitting closer to Talon, which allowed Akande to give Vishkar over to Reyes while he engaged the man in conversation. 

“Stop it. Your murderous intent is going to be misinterpreted,” Ana leaned in to scold. 

Jesse reluctantly turned away. “We got work to do anyhow. Meet back at the office?” 

“I’ll get Em to prepare the whisky,” Genji chimed in. 

“Not until after we’re done,” Ana warned. 

In the meantime, Hanzo had finished his conversation, and had walked over to their side of the courtroom. 

“Well that got complicated fast.” Jesse greeted him with a tired smile. 

Hanzo nodded. “It is nothing you cannot handle.”

“Thanks darlin’, that means a lot.” Jesse’s heart did feel much lighter. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to make it for dinner, though.”

Hanzo waved it off. “Meet me after.” 

Jesse perked right up. “Sounds perfect. I’ll call you?”

Hanzo nodded again before turning hesitantly to face Genji. He took a long breath. “Brother, perhaps you would like to join me for a meal later this week. If you had the time.”

Genji fell back a full step in surprise. Jesse had to nudge him to remind him to answer. “Yes! I would like that, please!” 

“I will be in touch.” 

Jesse beamed at the older Shimada, knowing how difficult the invitation must have been. Hanzo smiled slightly in gratitude. 

“Alright, I’ll call you later, sweetheart,” Jesse promised before turning to leave with the rest of his party. Just before they exited, Jesse saw Ogundimu approach Hanzo again. He bit back the desire to determine the man’s purpose, reminding himself that he trusted Hanzo’s judgement, but the general feeling of unease did not go away.

\--- 

“So what the hell are they talkin’ about?” Jesse asked Lucio once they had all taken a seat. Emily had ordered several pizzas so that they would not have to have the meeting on empty stomachs, to their relief. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t mention it before,” Lucio looked down at his slice miserably. 

“It’s alright. Just…mention it now,” Jesse urged. 

“…some of my sound equipment *does* belong to Vishkar. It’s beta stuff from their R&D.”

The lawyers exchanged a glance. “Go on,” Ana encouraged. 

“I’ve actually had it for quite a while. I think the reason they’ve not made this stuff public yet is because they haven’t been able to make it work,” Lucio admitted. “I made some modifications and integrated some of my own stuff, and it works great.”

“So you’ve been working together?” Genji asked. 

Lucio shook his head vigorously. “No. This stuff…I stole it.” 

“You _what_.” The Overwatch lawyers all answered in unison. 

Lucio scratched at his head. “Yeah, I broke into one of their R&D labs one evening and took it.”

“You broke into a Vishkar Corporation Research lab,” Jesse repeated. 

Lucio nodded. 

“How?!” Genji seemed more eager for the details than upset at the confession. 

“I have a few friends that helped me break in. Stealing wasn’t my original goal! I was just gonna make a mark, tell them that there were people standing against what they did. But I found the stuff, and realized it would make a greater statement if I put it to use against them.” 

“This was a while back and they’ve never brought it up, even though they likely saw me using it, despite the modifications. I figured they were too embarrassed to admit that they had allowed a lowly street musician to best their security, and to actually make their stuff work.”

“Huh. Well, you’ve got balls, I’ll give ya that,” Jesse mused. Lucio smiled at the praise. “But this leaves us with two bad options.” 

Genji huffed. “They’ve not mentioned the theft themselves, likely to force us into this position.” 

Jesse nodded. “If we neglect to mention the equipment is stolen, it’ll seem like you were workin’ with them all along, and that’ll look hypocritical. If we admit to the theft in court, it leaves them open to pursue charges with little room for us to refute ‘em.”

“I’m not afraid to go to jail,” Lucio said firmly. 

“The theft also takes away some of our moral high ground,” Ana pointed out. “There will be some who will not buy the ‘Robin Hood’ angle.”

“And we’re still no closer proving their intent in the concert incident,” Genji frowned. “We might lose the actual case in addition to the PR battle.” 

Jesse shook his head. “We can’t give up. We got five days, so we work those five days.”

The rest of the room looked to him, their spirits lifted. 

Jesse nodded. “Okay. Let’s talk strategy.” 

\--- 

Several hours later, the team finally agreed to call it a night. 

Jesse called Hanzo right away when it became clear they weren’t going to do more work, despite Genji’s teasing. 

Hanzo didn’t pick up. 

“He probably just has his ringer off,” Genji suggested. “Try again in a bit.”

Jesse did. Still no answer. 

An hour later, when McCree had long since returned home, he received a call. 

“Hey sweetheart,” Jesse answered with some uncertainty. “What happened?”

“My apologies. I joined several friends for dinner, and did not keep track of the time.” 

“Which friends?” 

“Reyes.” 

“And Ogundimu,” Jesse filled in, his heart plummeting.

There was a soft shuffling sound over the receiver. 

“I am downstairs. May I come in?”

Jesse was surprised. “Of course!”

He buzzed the man in, and paced in front of the door several times, trying to calm himself. He wanted to ask what Hanzo and the Talon lawyers had discussed, but knew it would have to be done with tact. 

Hanzo arrived at his door with a bottle of Jesse’s favourite bourbon, surprising McCree once again. He considered the implications: on the one hand, Hanzo felt as though he had something to apologize for. On the other, this was not a typical move for the man, who had never once showed up unannounced. It demonstrated again how far he was willing to step outside his area of comfort in order to make things work. He was trying. 

Knowing all of this, Jesse welcomed Hanzo warmly, and grabbed two glasses for the liquor.

“Mighty kind of you to come my way,” Jesse offered with a smile once they had taken a seat in the living room. 

Hanzo nodded, recognizing the praise. “It was my error.”

“No big deal,” Jesse waved it off, hoping he was hiding his disappointment well enough. “You’re here now, and I really needed to see you this evening.” 

Hanzo clinked his glass with Jesse’s before taking a small sip of the bourbon. “How are you feeling?”

“Shitty,” Jesse admitted, taking a long sip himself. “Lucio shoulda told us about the equipment.”

Hanzo frowned. “I am surprised that it did not come up.” 

Jesse felt his defenses go up, despite himself. Ogundimu’s taunts had not been without effect. Even though he knew that Hanzo was not suggesting that they should have known, the associations still stung. “Not sure how we coulda known to ask.” 

“Of course not,” Hanzo agreed. His frown deepened, as he caught Jesse’s tone, but he said nothing further. 

“Did you know?” Jesse asked, trying to keep his voice neutral. 

“No, of course not.” It was Hanzo’s turn to bristle. “But even if I had, I couldn’t tell you.” 

Jesse knew this to be true from an ethical standpoint, but it only served to reinforce how close Hanzo was to Ogundimu and the opposite side of the case. 

“It was good you were able to secure more time. It is a smart move.” 

Jesse could see that Hanzo was trying to focus on the positive, that he recognized the day had been a blow to McCree’s self-esteem. It had its desired effect. 

“Yeah thanks,” Jesse gave him a tired smile. “The next few days will be hell, but at least we’ve not lost yet.” 

Hanzo nodded again. “I am confident that you will be able to find the solution.” 

“As confident as you are in Ogundimu?” Jesse tried in jest. The joke fell flat. 

“You are both excellent lawyers.” Hanzo sat straighter, clearly uncomfortable.

“Did you have a good dinner?” Jesse changed the subject. 

Hanzo nodded. “It went well enough. It is good catching up with Gabriel.” 

“Just don’t let Jack hear of it.” 

“Who I spend my time with is my decision.” Another edge of tension entered Hanzo’s voice. 

“Of course, sweetpea,” Jesse tried to calm his tumultuous emotions before continuing. “And I would never try to take that away from you. Guess I’m just tryin’ to understand how you could wanna be friends with a man like that.” 

Hanzo frowned into his glass, understanding that they were now talking about Akande and not Gabe. “One of the few things that I have realized again, since I arrived in LA, is that I act differently depending on the company that I keep.”

“Everybody does that, honeybee.” 

“Yes, certainly,” Hanzo allowed. “And it was with Akande that I figured out what I truly needed to do. He allowed me to see a truth in myself that I had been ignoring.” 

“Oh?”

Hanzo nodded. “When I am with him, I am my older self, but one that is free from the guilt that comes with being that person. He has reminded me of that tenacity, and that I must try to rebuild my connections here, if I were to truly feel at home again.” 

Jesse nodded in response, knowing how important this must have been for Hanzo. Still, a part of his heart tightened at learning it was Ogundimu who helped Hanzo to this realization. 

“And what about me?” Jesse pressed curiously. “When we’re together?” 

Hanzo paused, clearly troubled by the question, but determined to answer. “When I am with you, it is different. More complicated.” 

“What.” Jesse sat up, as the words stung him to the core.

“I did not mean that negatively,” Hanzo tried again. “We have a history, and much of it is good. I am trying to allow myself to return to that without the burden of guilt and pain that also haunts my past.” 

“Forgive me if I’m having trouble seein’ that as a compliment.”

“It was not one,” Hanzo admitted carefully. “But neither was it a criticism.”

Jesse’s mind was reeling. Their conversation threatened to break under even the slightest pressure, but the anger that was bubbling up in his chest threatened faster. He swallowed it down, and took a deep breath. Hanzo was trying, so he could too. 

He held out a hand to ask for forgiveness. “Honeybee, I’m sorry for that tone. It’s just that I remember the days where every single one of your words sounded calculated, and where you held everyone at arm’s length so you couldn’t be read. If that’s what Ogundimu brings back, then you can see why I worry ‘bout you. I like you better now, that you’re able to speak your mind, now that you know that it’s okay to feel, to hurt, to make mistakes.” 

“And what if this is not how I am most comfortable?” Hanzo asked slowly, turning his eyes down. “If it is not who I want to be?” 

Jesse blinked. Hanzo had come so far, he couldn’t let him slip back. His heart couldn’t take it. But he knew the answer he had to give. 

“I would love you anyway,” Jesse admitted. “That’s part of the man I fell in love with in the first place. Not all of him, mind you. And that’s okay too.” 

“Okay,” Hanzo repeated. “I’m okay.” 

The words seemed to hold some sort of significance that McCree couldn’t quite grasp, so he reached out a bit more to grasp at Hanzo’s hand instead. 

Hanzo began to blink rapidly, but reached forward as well. Jesse could feel his heart swell with affection, as the tension seeped from his chest. He put his drink down on the coffee table and inched towards Hanzo on the sofa, eyes fixed on the man to ask permission. Hanzo smiled faintly, putting his glass down as well. Slowly, carefully, Jesse pulled Hanzo into an embrace, letting out another shaky breath against the man’s neck. 

“You’re doin’ so good, darlin’.” 

While Jesse’s spirits lifted now that Hanzo was safely in his arms for the evening, he couldn’t shake that which was left unsaid: that Hanzo’s friendship with Ogundimu felt in many ways simpler, unfettered. He nuzzled more deeply against Hanzo, willing these doubts away with the help of the warm body beside him. 

\--- 

The firm spent several days getting nowhere fast. While they tried not to let this setback dampen their spirits, the damage was done. Jesse also couldn’t shake his conversation with Hanzo from that evening: how the man had admitted his relationship with Ogundimu was less complicated. What if Hanzo decided that he felt more comfortable being the man he was by Akande’s side? That his relationship with Jesse wasn’t worth saving? 

Jesse was moping over the possible outcomes of these thoughts that afternoon when Genji rushed into the office. 

“News. Right now!” 

Jesse went into the conference room to comply, and the rest of the firm followed. The TV showed footage of several burning buildings. 

“What are we watching?” Morrison barked. 

“An explosion in one of the favelas in Rio,” Genji summarized. “I noted it in my research yesterday because Vishkar had submitted a proposal for its redesign. It lost out to Calado Corp. just last week.”

“Hm…how do you interpret this?” Ana pressed.

“The Calado proposal focused on working with the community already in place.” Genji sounded like he was trying to slow his voice down to make it understandable through his excitement. “Whereas the Vishkar proposal would be an overhaul, as is common of their public works. They don’t control any of the utilities in the area yet, and were hoping to use this area of Rio as their first foothold.”

“Now hold on. Wantin’ a first foothold is quite a few steps away from blowin’ up several city blocks,” Jesse chimed in. 

“True. But look!” Genji pointed to a scrolling headline underneath the screen, which had now zoomed in to focus on the mayor of the city. 

“’Vishkar to help in rebuilding process’,” Lena murmured. 

Genji nodded. “The Calado plan assumed that there were buildings left to work with, whereas Vishkar would have torn it all down. Now Calado isn’t feasible.”

“Suspicious,” Jack muttered. 

“And downright mercenary if it’s true,” McCree added. 

“And downright difficult to prove,” Genji chimed in as well. “Plus, the judge is already complained about us bringing in information that’s not related to the case.” 

“If we can find hard proof though—” 

“It would still barely be related to our case. And it will be hard to do,” Ana pointed out. 

Jesse sighed. “It’s still a lead. Lena, look into it.” 

“Roger!” Lena shot him a salute before dashing away. 

“Are you alright?” 

Jesse turned to give Ana a tired smile at hearing her question. 

“Yeah, just tired.” 

Ana saw straight through his excuse. “Have you seen Hanzo recently?” 

“Not for a couple days, no,” Jesse admitted. “He’s not called.”

“So call him,” Genji frowned. 

“Yeah, I think I will, thanks.” Jesse threw them a wave as he made his way to his office and closed his door. 

He couldn’t tell his team the truth: that he would have called Hanzo were it not for the fear gnawing at his heart. What if he called, and Hanzo decided that this was to be their last conversation? Or that he was more comfortable being by Ogundimu’s side, where life was less complicated, less painful? That Hanzo himself had not contacted him only confirmed his anxiety. The man didn’t seem to want to talk to him either.

Jesse opened his bottom drawer and took out a bottle of bourbon, only allowing himself to pour one single shot before putting the bottle away again. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was losing both battles to Akande Ogundimu: the one in the courtroom, and the one for Hanzo’s heart. 

He was so distracted, that he didn’t hear his cell phone ping with an incoming message. 

**Unknown:** Hey, pendejo. You’re gonna wanna look at this.

\--- 

As the day drew to a close at Ogundimu, Reyes & Lacroix, Akande again seemed to be in excellent spirits. 

Reyes followed his movements as the man gathered his things to leave for the evening. 

“You’re confident about Vishkar, then?” Gabe asked, crossing his arms. 

“Oh yes,” Akande turned to fix him with a smug smile. “In fact, I will celebrate two victories by the end of the week. One of these I plan on securing right now.”

\--- 

**Reaper:** Sombra. Send Ingrate to the Dragon’s location. Now. 

**Sombra:** No. 

**Reaper:** What.

 **Sombra:** No. I’m done doing your proxy parenting. 

**Reaper:** What.

 **Sombra:** Go tell him yourself.

 **Reaper:** WTF is your problem?

 **Sombra:** You. Time you admitted your fatherly feelings and got credit for them. 

**Reaper:** 2x pay.

 **Sombra:** Tempting but no. 

**Reaper:** Fuck you. 

**Sombra:** Doomfist ETA 35 min. I can delay it. Maybe 40-45. Better get going, boss. 

**Reaper:** Fuck you v. much.


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabe races to Jesse's. Akande races to Hanzo's. Jesse races to Hanzo's. Many conversations ensue. What will Hanzo decide?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone,
> 
> Apologies for the delay! The chapter count for the story has once again increased, as this one was spinning out of control. Our characters engage in deep, meaningful conversations in this chapter, and the courtroom battle continues in the next. Nyxt has been so kind in helping me with the details of that scene, and I hope to do it justice (no pun intended) in the final chapter! 
> 
> Resolving all the emotional threads here was a bit of struggle. I would love to hear your thoughts on this! Thank you for your patience with the updates, and for your wonderful, encouraging, helpful comments. <3

_  
Genji was just finishing up in Nepal, and would arrive to join the firm next month._

_Gabe was working a hell of a case, and was pulling his second all-nighter in a row. He had just got himself some water from the kitchen, when he noticed that the light in Hanzo’s office was also still on. Having spent the better part of four hours staring at the computer, Reyes decided he needed a break. He knocked._

_“Come in.”_

_Gabe entered Hanzo’s office to find the other man not so much staring at his sake as he was staring through it._

_“Thought it was just me tonight. Didn’t think you had anything going?” Shimada had just completed a case, and should only have been wrapping up the paperwork._

_“No,” Hanzo blinked at his beverage. “I do not.”_

_Reyes crossed his arms. While he had always liked Hanzo, as the man’s no-nonsense work ethic mirrored his own, they had never talked much by themselves. He wasn’t sure how much he was meant to pry._

_“Well, if you’re wanting to talk, I’m looking for any excuse to get away from this Lunacorp fiasco,” he offered._

_Hanzo didn’t move. Gabe was about to make his retreat, when the other man finally spoke._

_“I received a letter from my father today.”_

_“Oh?”_

_Gabe knew enough about Hanzo’s family to know it couldn’t have been good._

_“Posthumously. He died last week.”_

_“Oh,” Gabe frowned. “Shit, I’m sorry, Shimada.”_

_“Thank you,” Hanzo answered absently._

_Gabe observed the man’s reaction and took a gamble. “It’s something else.”_

_Hanzo blinked and gestured to an envelope with Japanese characters on the front._

_“He wrote me a letter. To apologize for his actions, for the life he tried to make me live, for cutting his sons out of his own life. He realized at the end of it that he had cultivated the wrong type of relationship and was grateful that I was able to find the right one with Genji, despite how he raised me. He said when I left to stand up for my brother, it was one of the proudest moments of his life.”_

_“Fuck.”_

_Hanzo poured sake into a second cup. Gabe took it and sat down._

_“He has written us both back into his will. His one great regret in his life was that he was unable to admit this earlier, and that his pride kept him from telling us in person.”_

_“That’s rough…”_

_“I…am not good with people,” Hanzo continued. “And I’ve known that it is a product of my upbringing. I have done things of which I am not proud in the name of my family. It was part of what I’d hoped to leave behind. To atone, I have tried very hard to do what is right…”_

_Reyes heard a new timbre to Hanzo’s voice that he had never heard before, and it worried him. “Seems to me like you’re doing fine.”_

_Hanzo huffed. “And yet, I now wonder whether I made the correct choice, whether I should not have given my father another chance. Whether I will feel for the rest of my life that I was the son who was not good enough.”_

__…who will never be good enough_ was left unspoken, but rang clearly through the room. _

_Gabe took a long sip of sake, and refilled both their glasses. He considered his answer for a moment._

_“My mama was a real hard lady,” he mused. “Worked two jobs and raised two kids alone. Never gave me or my sister any room to breathe. We were never enough. Smart enough, American enough, friendly enough.”_

_Hanzo finally looked up, surprised by this new topic._

_“We were never close. And it took me a long time to realize why she put us through the wringer the way she did.”_

_“I’m lucky we grew to respect each other, but that didn’t come easy. One day though she sat me down to tell me she was proud of me, and it was hard for me to accept too, after a lifetime of being beaten down. But looking in her eyes, I knew it to be true. And looking back at how she’s raised us, I knew that was the reason why. She fucked up, but she did her best, like the rest of us. You just gotta trust in that. No one’s just good or bad. Not him. Not you. You did what you had to do. Funny isn’t it? As lawyers we’re obsessed with proving right and wrong, but it’s never that simple.”_

_Hanzo sipped his drink, but did not answer._

_“And my sister and me? We’d kill for each other. Only a sibling knows what it’s like growing up in your house. That’s a relationship that’s hard to break. You and Genji seem like the same. So you’re not as bad at relationships as you think.”_

_“My brother forgives my social inadequacy because he must,” Hanzo answered wryly._

_“What about the rest of us?” Gabe pressed. “Morrison likes you. Even I like you. That’s not an easy feat to pull.”_

_Hanzo was once again looking at him with mild surprise._

_“And I am grateful for your kindnesses.”_

_“Isn’t kindness alone. If we didn’t like you, you’d know it. You wouldn’t be partner. You wouldn’t be invited out to all our shitty dinners and evenings together. McCree sure as hell wouldn’t be—oh come on, you know the boy is sweet on you,” Reyes interrupted himself, seeing Hanzo’s disbelief. “Looks to me like the problem isn’t your lack of social skills. It’s your lack of confidence in them.”_

_Hanzo frowned. “I see no difference.”_

_“Hell of a difference,” Gabe argued. “Try telling McCree how you feel. That’ll prove to you right away.”_

_Hanzo blushed red._

_“Or don’t,” Reyes shrugged. “I’ve been trying to convince that ingrate to for years. Just thought you’d be more sensible. Whatever you do doesn’t change the facts though. You’re the best son and brother you could be, given the circumstances. You’re the best person you can be, and people like you for it. So that’s okay.”_

_Hanzo blinked at his beverage._

_“No one has ever said that to me before.”_

_“What?”_

_“That I’m okay.”_

_Gabe frowned. Despite what he’d just revealed, he found it hard to imagine what it would be like, feeling your entire life like you would never be enough, and never once being told otherwise. There had been others who had filled in those words for him: friends, mentors, Jack. Gabe realized it wasn’t a decision for him to step into the role of friend and mentor now for Hanzo, as he had for Jesse. It was an obligation._

_“You’re okay,” Reyes repeated. “Maybe no one’s told you, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true.”_

_Hanzo nodded, and they sat in silence for a moment more. If the younger man had to wipe at his face a few times, head bowed, Gabe didn’t mention it._

_Two years later, When Gabe watched his world fall apart, rejected by the man he’d built his life and firm with, shunned by his friends, nearly disbarred for unscrupulous practices, he received a small note card at his new office at Talon._

__You’re okay. –H __

_And he too knew that he would be._

\--- 

Reyes raced to Jesse’s apartment in town. He would have called, but didn’t want to give McCree the option of hanging up. Most of the lights were green on his way over. He absurdly wondered whether Sombra had a hand in that, even though he knew it was impossible—well, he _guessed_ that it was impossible. 

He reached the front door of the building and buzzed up. 

“Hello?” Jesse’s voice was tired, worn. 

“Open up. Gotta talk. Now.” 

“Bos—Reyes?” Jesse corrected himself. “What do we have to talk about?” 

“Ogundimu and Hanzo.” 

He was buzzed up without further conversation.

Reyes took the elevator to the 11th floor, musing at how familiar this all felt, and how long it had been. When he got to Jesse’s unit, the door was already open. Jesse was leaning against the door frame in a crappy t-shirt and boxers. 

“Ogundimu’s making a move. You gotta go see Hanzo.” Gabe started speaking when he figured he was in hearing range. 

Jesse frowned with uncertainty, and ushered him inside. 

“We don’t have time for this,” Reyes protested. 

“I’m not leavin’ until you tell me what’s goin’ on,” Jesse crossed his arms. “Makin’ a move how? Hanzo’s not gonna join your firm.” 

“That’s not the move Akande is making,” Reyes answered flatly. 

Jesse’s face clouded over, but became resigned just as quick. 

“What?” Gabe asked irritably. 

“If it’s what Hanzo wants, I got no right to stop him.” 

“What he _wants_?” Reyes rolled his eyes. “You think he made doe eyes at you for years because this is what he wants? That he overcame his anxiety and goes on dates with you because he doesn’t care? That he came back because you don’t matter?”

Jesse blinked at him. 

“You paid Sombra to give me all that information,” he realized. 

Gabe huffed, but said nothing. 

“Why?” Jesse demanded.

Reyes threw his hands up in the air. “Doesn’t matter. You got twenty minutes before Ogundimu arrives at Shimada’s place. What matters is if you’re gonna try to beat him there. So are you?”

Jesse continued to look at him like he’d already lost. The expression brought Gabe back to the very first time he’d met Jesse at the interview: a young man fresh out of law school, who had just been to seven interviews and received seven rejections. There was something about McCree’s unruly appearance and easy-going approach that had irked the other firms, but Reyes had taken one look at him and had only seen potential. He had taken McCree under his wing, and almost immediately Jesse proved to be invaluable. His confidence built gradually over the years, and the look of resigned defeat had been left in the past. Gabe hadn’t seen this uncertainty in the younger man’s eyes since the very beginning. 

Reyes sighed and rubbed at his face. “Look kid. I’ve been rooting for you. I always have.”

Life flickered behind McCree’s expression. 

“And your thing with Shimada’s been rough. That’s neither your fault, nor his. So if you go, and he tells you off, then fine, I was wrong. But you let Akande Ogundimu steal him away from you, you let Hanzo think that you’re the one who’s given up, then you only got one man to blame.”

There was something easy about looking out for the younger man, looking out for both of them, really. Gabe never acknowledged this, he just did it. Equally, there was something in Jesse that would only respond to Reyes’ ass kicking. 

And it was exactly what Jesse needed. Anger and determination flared in his eyes. He stomped into his room and emerged minutes later fully dressed. Grabbing his hat, he marched towards the door. 

Reyes smirked. “I’ll drive,” he heard himself say. “You’ll never make it in that hippo you call a truck.” 

“You know no one gets to talk about Bessie that way, boss,” Jesse snorted. 

They paused, the familiarity of the moment catching them both off guard. 

Reyes slapped his hand on Jesse’s shoulder. “Let’s go get your man.” 

\--- 

Across the city, Hanzo was sitting on his couch, wrapped in a fluffy red blanket that Jesse had gifted him one Christmas. It had been days since they had spoken. Hanzo knew he had been brutally honest in their previous evening together, but felt also as though it had been necessary. He had spent most of his life keeping his true feelings to himself, hoarding it like treasure. It was what his father had done, what his father had regretted most, and he was going to be damned if he ever turned into that man. 

Still, Hanzo had decided that he would let McCree find him, when he was ready to do so. He had been surprised when the man had not called, and somewhat disappointed, if he were to be honest. He wondered at what it meant—whether he perhaps should not have been quite so truthful. 

Hanzo sunk deeper into the blanket with a huff. Relationships were so difficult. His best intentions had an unfortunate habit of backfiring spectacularly. 

He jumped a bit at the sound of his phone ringing. Someone was buzzing at his door. 

“Hello?” 

“Hanzo, I am so glad that you are home,” Akande’s voice drifted effortlessly over his receiver. “May I come up to see you?” 

“This is unexpected,” Hanzo frowned. 

“Indeed, it is. I hope that you can forgive this surprise.” Akande’s voice did not sound apologetic at all. Hanzo huffed in amusement. 

“Hold on.” 

He buzzed the man up to his apartment, and hastily folded the blanket and hid it in his bedroom. He wondered at his decision to do so, and realized he was not embarrassed that it was from Jesse, but that the fact that he would have something so soft and tacky around his person. Hanzo frowned, unsure of what to make of this. He had spent several years freed by the realization that he did not have to control his mannerisms and appearances, and took solace and immense pride in the fact that he had not worried about this at all. Until now.

He stood in front of his bedroom mirror for a moment longer, examining his appearance. His hair was slightly disheveled from having been hooded by the blanket, in what McCree liked to refer to affectionately as his “sexy bedtime” look. Hanzo pondered the significance of his actions again as he redid his hair before answering the door. 

“Hanzo. Thank you for seeing me this evening,” Akande offered smoothly once the door opened.

“It is good of you to visit,” Hanzo gave him a slight nod. “Would you like to go for a drink? There are a few bars in the area.”

“I was hoping I might convince you to stay in instead.” Akande presented Hanzo with a fine bottle of sake that had previously been hidden behind his back. Hanzo examined the label and couldn’t help but be impressed. 

“How forward of you,” he remarked, seeing exactly where this was going. 

Akande smiled and took his hand. “Would Hanzo Shimada be worthy of anything less than my best effort?” 

\--- 

Meanwhile, in Gabe’s car, Reyes was driving as only a native of LA could through the surface streets.

“Take the 10,” Jesse suggested. His hat was in his lap and his fingers were grasping at the brim. Gabe recognized it as a sign of his anxiousness. 

He snorted. “Am I driving, or you?”

Jesse made a disgruntled noise, but stayed silent. He began to shuffle in his seat instead. 

“Just spill it.” Reyes rolled his eyes, knowing that McCree was itching to say something. 

“Why are you doin’ this?” 

“Doesn’t matter.” 

Jesse snorted. “Bullshit.” 

“Language,” Reyes reminded him absently, once again falling into old patterns. 

Jesse shuffled again.

“It’s just that…I thought you’d be glad to be rid of all of us for good.” 

“What.”

“After what happened,” Jesse explained. “Didn’t think you wanted to talk to us anymore. Was mighty surprised when I found out you were close with Han.”

Gabe frowned. “I figured *you’d* want your space, after what happened. You took his side, after all.”

“Aw, come on now boss, you know it ain’t like that,” Jesse rolled his eyes. “And really? After all these years you’re _still_ hung up on sides?” 

“No,” Gabe huffed. “Just thought you might be.” 

Jesse fidgeted awhile longer. “What you did wasn’t right,” he allowed. “But I can see why you did it, and it wasn’t my place to blame you. Whatever it might’ve done to Overwatch, it didn’t. We’re still standin’. And Petras was a piece of shit, and woulda had it comin’.”

“Except now he never will.” The bitterness of that truth still gnawed away at Reyes’ heart. Not only had he lost his chance of putting that fucker behind bars, he had nearly destroyed Overwatch in doing so. And he had lost Jack. Gabe’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel.

“Never say never,” Jesse hummed. “One of the first things you taught me.” 

Reyes snorted again. “I didn’t teach you that so you could use it against me.” 

“Hey now, meet me in the courtroom and tell me that,” Jesse taunted. 

Reyes punched Jesse on the arm, laughing at as the other man whimpered melodramatically. Something about this just felt right, and Gabe’s heart felt lighter than it had in a long time. 

\--- 

Back in the apartment, Hanzo took the sake that was offered, using it as an excuse to retreat to the kitchen. “You flatter me.” 

Akande followed close behind. “I never flatter. I only ever offer praise when it is deserved.” 

Hanzo made a noncommittal noise as he reached for two small sake cups. He carefully poured the liquor, and handed one cup to Akande, who accepted it with a nod. The Talon lawyer lifted his cup, and Hanzo followed. 

“You must be confident in the Vishkar case, to take the evening off,” Hanzo mused. 

Akande laughed. “What I am doing tonight is equally as important to me, if not more so.” 

He leaned in across the kitchen bar towards Hanzo. Hanzo kept still, once again seemingly unaffected by the other man’s charm. This only made Akande’s eyes gleam with anticipation.

“You should not underestimate Jesse.” Hanzo refused to take the conversation to where Akande clearly wanted it to go.

“I would not be foolish enough to underestimate him in any arena,” Akande answered. He took another long sip from his cup, before taking the bottle to refill both of their beverages. 

“And yet here you are, a couple days away from another major court date, fraternizing with a distraction.” 

Akande only continued to smile. “Gabriel accused me of just as much. But I enjoy your company.” 

“And I yours,” Hanzo conceded. 

“And have you considered whether you desire more?” Akande’s arms were crossed in front of him on the table so that his muscles flexed under the silky fabric of his shirt. 

Hanzo frowned at him. “I have told you before that I am not ready for—”

“So you have,” Akande cut in. “And I am prepared to wait as long as you need. But consider whether you feel as though you are not ready, not worthy…”

Hanzo stiffened, but said nothing.

“…because the company that you keep is holding you back.” 

Hanzo’s answer was immediate. “The company that I keep is for me to choose.” 

“I agree,” Akande pulled back slightly. “I am only asking for you to reflect upon your choice.”

“I like to think that we are all capable of change, that we have infinite possible selves,” Akande continued. “Much of who we are is affected by who we are with. So you must ask yourself, which is the Hanzo Shimada that you want to be? The confident man who enjoys fine things, and eloquent company, who is well-respected in the community, and stands brazenly at my side?” Akande’s eyes glittered with desire during the entire description. “Or the one who is repeatedly hurt, weakened by others who would exploit their relationship for their own selfish feelings? The one who feels guilty needlessly for a crime he never committed?”

“You speak on things you do not understand,” Hanzo frowned. 

“Then help me to do so,” Akande answered, extending his hand across the kitchen bar table. “ _Allow_ me to do so.” 

Hanzo looked up to find Akande looking at him with that same intensity, that same fire as before. It was the same passion that Hanzo had once felt in himself, the same pride that was simultaneously the source of his greatest strength and the cause of his greatest downfall. 

He steeled himself, and made his decision.

\--- 

Jesse and Gabe raced for the door to Hanzo’s building just in time to see Akande close it behind him. Jesse instantly bared his teeth, and was moving to rush at the larger man when Reyes pulled him back by the shoulder. 

Akande narrowed his eyes as he approached them, with the slow and careful steps of a circling fighter.

“Hey,” Gabe greeted his partner listlessly. 

Akande’s eyes slid between the two men, but said nothing.

A realization struck Jesse. “You’re leavin’.”

“How observant,” Akande returned, his glare intensifying. 

Jesse’s heart leaped into his throat. “He kicked you out.”

“We parted ways amicably,” Ogundimu corrected him. The veins in his neck betrayed that he was restraining his temper. 

“’Cause he turned you down,” Jesse continued to press, hope blooming.

Akande clenched his jaw. “It is out of my friendship for Hanzo that I am holding back. You might consider doing the same.” 

“Only frien—oof!” Jesse’s jeer was cut off as Gabe smacked him hard on the back of the head.

“I taught you better than that,” Reyes snapped.

“I will say one thing more,” Akande rumbled as he began to advance on Jesse again. McCree straightened his shoulders and looked up at him defiantly. “Hurt him, and you will pay. I will be there, and you will not get a second chance.” 

“Don’t intend on needing one,” Jesse lifted his chin. They squared off for another minute, while Gabe rolled his eyes, bringing a hand to his forehead. 

“Are you done?” He asked McCree, as the younger man watched Akande retreat down the stairs. “Because you’re wasting time.” 

That snapped the younger man back to attention. He adjusted his Stetson and stared down the lobby door like he was about to duel it to the death. Gabe chuckled at his almost comical determination, causing Jesse to turn to face him once again. They stared at each other for a moment, once again caught up on how familiar and how _right_ this all felt. 

“Well. What are you waiting for?” Gabe huffed. 

Jesse nodded. “Thanks, boss.” 

Reyes snorted, and waved it off. “I’ll wait here. You better text me if you decide to stay.” 

With another quick salute and a lopsided grin, McCree stalked towards the building buzzer. 

\---

Hanzo had retreated to the sofa, and was once again wrapped in the red blanket. He had made the correct choice: he was certain of it. Even if Jesse had decided that he only wanted to be friends, Hanzo couldn’t go back to who he was, not after what had happened. He would do this alone if he had to—he _could_ do this alone. He just really wished that he didn’t have to. 

His phone rang, and his call display showed once again that it was the door. 

Hanzo reached to pick it up. 

“Hello?” 

There was no immediate answer. 

“Hello?” Hanzo tried again. He could hear a breath on the other end.

“Hey there, honeybee.” 

Hanzo blinked. 

“Hello?” Jesse added anxiously when there was no reply. 

“Yes?”

“Listen, sorry for the surprise, but I’m downstairs, and was wonderin’ if I could come up to see you?”

“Why?” The question slipped out before Hanzo could stop it, far colder than he wanted. 

Luckily, Jesse understood the reason. “Because I was a fool for not comin’ by earlier?”

Hanzo could tell that the other man was smiling, and that he had somehow found his defensiveness endearing. He smiled despite himself, anxiety abating. 

“Hold on.”

Hanzo sat still for a moment after buzzing Jesse in, unsure of what to do in the meantime. His cell phone pinged to indicate that he had received a text message. He scanned it quickly, and managed to send a reply right as he heard a soft knock at the door. 

“Hello there,” Jesse greeted him with a hopeful smile, grabbing his hat to hold at his chest. Hanzo nodded, and stepped aside to allow him in. “Did I wake ya?”

“What? No.” Hanzo realized that his hair must once again be disheveled. He pulled at his hair tie to let it down. Jesse’s face lit up like a Christmas tree, and Hanzo remembered belatedly how much McCree liked it this way. He gestured towards the kitchen. “Can I get you anything to drink?” 

“Oh! Was kinda short on time, but I got you this.” 

Jesse took a mediocre bottle of red wine out of a brown paper bag that was likely purchased from a supermarket on his way over. He looked embarrassed, but Hanzo found it charming. 

“Thank you,” Hanzo accepted the bottle and retrieved a corkscrew and glasses. He saw Jesse eyeing the bottle of mostly finished sake that Akande had left, looking so wounded that Hanzo had to laugh. “That was not as good as I imagined it would be.”

He handed Jesse a glass. “And now I have better company,” he added. Jesse perked up right away.

The clinked glasses, and sipped the wine in silence.

“So to—”

“So how—”

They laughed as they cut each other off. Jesse gestured that Hanzo should start. 

“To what do I owe this honour?” Hanzo inquired. 

“To be honest, I hadn’t thought that far. I’d only meant to stop Ogundimu from pressuring you, but it looks like you handled him on your lonesome,” Jesse admitted, rubbing at the back of his neck. 

Hanzo lifted his chin. “He was not pressuring me.”

Jesse looked uncertain, but nodded, trusting Hanzo’s judgement. “Also figured I owed you an apology. Wanted to make sure you knew we were okay.” 

“Are we okay?” Hanzo frowned. “I may have been—”

“You were just bein’ honest, like you promised,” Jesse cut in. ‘And you’re not wrong. We *are* complicated. But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna give up on us if you’re not.” 

Hanzo blinked. 

“You’re doin’ so well, honeybee. It’s only right I meet ya half way, if you’ll have me. I just needed you to know that I’ll be waitin’ if that does happen,” Jesse shot Hanzo a reassuring grin.

“Thank you,” Hanzo gave him a half-smile in return.

“…that’s really all,” Jesse shuffled on his feet again. “If you’d rather spend the evenin’ alone, I can—”

“I would not mind the company,” Hanzo heard himself answer quickly. Jesse beamed. “And we should talk.” 

A troubled look flickered across Jesse’s face, but he nodded. Hanzo raised a hand to the living room, and Jesse took a seat on the sofa. Hanzo sat a respectful distance away. 

“I have had time to reflect, and believe that I owe you an explanation.” 

“You only need to tell me what you want to, when you want to, honeybee,” Jesse interrupted. “I’m happy to listen if that’s what would help.” 

“I would like to tell you,” Hanzo offered him a slight smile. “And it would help.”

Jesse nodded, holding out a hand, palm up. Hanzo took it, after taking another sip of wine. 

“I am not perfect. Circumstances proved to me as much.” Hanzo traced the lines on Jesse’s palm. “And it had been a journey to accept this. To accept my weaknesses, and my culpability.” 

“Now, darlin’—“ Jesse tried. 

“I know what you might say,” Hanzo interrupted, but his expression did not look as upset as it could have looked. “But things would be different had I been more accepting of the truth.” 

“The ‘truth’ better not be that Genji and I are a thing, because—“ Jesse began again. 

“No. I understand now,” Hanzo continued to rub at Jesse’s hand, pacifying him. “No, the truth was…”

Hanzo stopped and took a long breath. Jesse squeezed his hands in encouragement. 

“Did my brother ever tell you about our family?” Hanzo asked when he was able to continue. 

Jesse frowned. “Only that they’re fucked up, and you’re the only one who matters to him.” 

Hanzo blinked, visibly touched by the second sentiment. He nodded. “While working for them, I did…things of which I am not proud, because I was told it was for the good of the family, and I believed them.” 

“I knew it was wrong. But I felt a duty, an obligation, as it was how I had been raised. I was not a good person.” 

Hanzo’s eyes fell at this last sentence, and Jesse scrambled to offer solace. “You’ve more than made up for it by now, darlin’. You’re not the person you were before.” 

Hanzo nodded again. “So I thought. Until that moment before Genji’s injury.” 

Jesse sighed. “It wasn’t your—”

“Whatever it was, it was,” Hanzo interrupted. “But what haunted me afterwards, what continues to haunt me, is the jealousy that I felt that evening.”

“It was emblematic of other moments in our past where I denied myself what I wanted, what I believed, for what I expected to be the greater good, while Genji never felt such pressure. I grew to resent him for it, for his freedom.” 

Jesse felt silent, his heart aching for Hanzo. He wished he could do more, take the man in his arms and soothe him until the look of uncertainty and pain faded completely, but knew that would be overstepping his boundaries for now. 

“I thought that I had overcome these feelings, and that they were just remnants of my past self, but in just one moment it all came back, like it was telling me that I had not left that selfish, cold, cruel man behind in Hanamura, as I thought I had.” 

“Admitting my love for you was one of the first things I remembered doing purely for myself,” Hanzo continued, his head still bowed. And eyes still focused downwards. Drops of liquid fell onto their hands. Jesse’s heart may have stopped beating altogether. “And look where it left all of us. It seemed like a sign.” 

“Honeybee…” Jesse faltered, having no cure. 

“So I fell into my old pattern, despite the bitterness in my heart. The greater good was the happiness of the two men I cared for most in my life. The result was equally as traumatizing. Moreso. I could not handle it.”

“But you did!” Unable to stop himself any longer, he pulled Hanzo fully into his arms. Hanzo drew completely stiff for split second before completely collapsing against Jesse’s body. “You did so good, honeybee. You’re not the man you were before. He sounds like an asshole, and I wouldn’t have fallen in love with an asshole.” 

Hanzo’s shoulders shook with laughter against Jesse’s chest. “I didn’t think it could be true,” Hanzo admitted. “That I could have been the one you loved, especially since I was fighting back the monster that I used to be.”

Jesse held Hanzo by both shoulders and moved him back gently. “I never saw no monster.” He tilted his head and lifted a hand to the other man’s cheek. “I only saw a man who loved his brother so much he’d flee with him to a foreign country. A man who clearly had no use for our bullshit, but put up with it anyway. A man who could make my heart skip a beat just by lookin’ my way.” 

Hanzo looked up at him with wonder, disbelief. Jesse could feel his face burn under the intense emotion. 

“Have you considered, even once, that maybe we’re the ones that don’t deserve you, Hanzo?”

“Not once,” Hanzo replied softly. “But I’ve come to accept now several things that my friends have taught me. No one is completely good nor bad, and chasing such a title in itself is folly. I’ve accepted that I am a different person with different people.” 

Remembering this topic from the other day, Jesse tried his best to hold back any comment about Ogundimu. 

Hanzo took a long shuddering breath. “And this is why my friendship with Gabriel and Akande are important. If I can see the goodness in them, despite their reputations, then there must also be hope for myself.” 

Jesse nodded, leaning forward slightly until their foreheads touched. 

“Akande asked me who I wanted to be,” Hanzo continued, eyes flickering upwards. “I find that I am only this vulnerable, this open, this weak when I am with you.” 

Jesse drew back slightly. 

“But also, that I like myself the most when I am with you, despite this. Maybe because of it.” 

Jesse could hear his heart beating wildly in his ears, and barely dared to believe Hanzo’s words. He grasped at both of Hanzo’s hands. Hanzo looked down, and traced the blue and red line tattoo that Jesse had noted in their date with a finger. 

“I got this tattoo to remind me of you,” Hanzo admitted. “In hopes that one day our lives would intertwine again, as simply as these lines, despite all complications.”

“So…” Jesse’s mind was reeling, and he barely had enough of his voice to say what he wanted to say anyway. “Does that mean…”

“It means that I love you, Jesse McCree, and would be humbled and honoured if you would have this imperfect being in your life again,” Hanzo looked up at him, eyes glistening. 

At that, Jesse couldn’t hold himself back any longer. His eyes fell downward to Hanzo’s lips before darting back up, asking permission. Hanzo wrapped his arms around Jesse’s torso and pulled, and they fell backwards onto the couch as their lips met. 

They felt several minutes just remembering-- it felt like coming home: so familiar and so right that Jesse felt everything breaking at once.

“You’re not imperfect,” Jesse murmured against Hanzo’s ear. “Not to me.” 

“Nor are you,” Hanzo answered. 

They sat together, just enjoying the idea of being together, and being okay, until Hanzo finally pulled away with great reluctance. 

“You need to get some rest,” he chastised when Jesse whimpered and tried to pull him back onto the sofa. “The case.” 

“I’ve not been here that—oh shit how long have I been here?!” Jesse scrambled up and looked to the clock. 

“If you are wondering about Gabriel, he texted me right after you buzzed the door,” Hanzo replied, amused. “I told him that he should go.”

Jesse sank back onto the couch. “Whew. Dodged that bullet at least. Not sure I’m gonna dodge this next one though.”

“You think that winning the hearts and minds of people who are already predilected to favouring dos Santos will be any more difficult than winning over me?” Hanzo turned to shoot him an imperious glare that was only half feigned. 

Jesse chuckled. “How could I be so foolish?” 

“How indeed,” Hanzo replied with a small smile. “I wonder this to myself frequently.” 

He brought their glasses back to the kitchen and gave Jesse a considering look when he returned. 

“Would you like to stay the night?” Hanzo inquired. 

Jesse’s eyes widened in response, and his mouth fell open into a wide grin. Hanzo laughed. 

“I will see about finding you some spare clothes.” He leaned in to kiss Jesse gently on the lips before moving to do so. 

“Your bed?” Jesse called after him eagerly. 

“We will see,” Hanzo called back. 

Jesse looked down to check his phone for the first time in hours, and finally saw the blinking text message. He nearly fell off the sofa. 

“What is it?” Hanzo had returned to peer at him curiously. 

“Look at what we’ve got here!” He pushed the phone towards Hanzo. The elder Shimada took it, and read its contents with a thoughtful frown. 

“If this is true…” 

“Then you will have a very good day in the office tomorrow,” Hanzo finished. 

“But—”

“There is nothing you can do about it right now, however.” 

“Really?” Jesse raised an eyebrow. “Hanzo Shimada, one of the best attorneys in the city, likely the _country_ doesn’t think I should go in right now and follow this lead?”

“That was a different man,” Hanzo answered solemnly. “The current Hanzo Shimada sees the virtue of taking evenings off for other important activities.” 

Without another word, Hanzo stood and walked towards his bedroom, and Jesse scrambled to follow.


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Court is back in session! Who will win?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone,
> 
> Whew. This is it! Thank you so much for sticking with this story, despite its horrible update delays and out of characterness (AUs are hard!). Much love to Nyxt for answering my silly questions about courtroom things! Any errors in representation here are mine, and not hers, because I am a slave to plot and not legal accuracy :P 
> 
> Even if courtroom drama isn’t your thing, you might want to read the short epilogue at the end, where one last emotional thread is wrapped up. 
> 
> Thank you so much for your kindness and encouraging words during the course of this story! I wouldn’t have been able to finish it without your encouragement! <3 
> 
> Also, someone write me the R76 sequel because I don’t think my heart could handle it. 
> 
> I would love to hear your comments if you had the time. Thank you again, and see you next time! <3

The next court date arrived sooner than it had any right to, but Jesse’s team felt ready. 

They were greeted by the same swarm of media upon entering, and once again, they fought their way through the crowd to their table. 

Once again, Talon and Vishkar were already there, sitting prim. Jesse inwardly rolled his eyes. While he was slightly dismayed the find that Hanzo too had already arrived, and was once again sitting on Talon’s side of the room, he also knew that he was the one Hanzo would leave with, and that’s what counted in the end. 

After the opening procedures, Jesse called Lucio to the stand. 

“Tell us a bit about your history with Vishkar, Mr. dos Santos.” They had agreed to using the more formal address in court.

Lucio nodded. “I was real young when I first heard their name. Not even ten. They had taken notice of our favela, and decided it’d be their next site of development.”

“And tell us a bit about your experience living in a place that had been handpicked by Vishkar for this purpose.” 

Lucio frowned. “Most people have heard me tell this before. We weren’t doing well before they arrived, so some were even happy that they were moving in. They were cured of that real fast though. It became clear that Vishkar wasn’t interested in improving our home for us. They were interested in putting in amenities for the new families they were trying to attract to the area.” 

“What makes you think that?” Jesse asked. 

“At first, we thought it was just a result of their development—new families would come in here and there, buy up property and fix it up. We welcomed them as we would any other new member to our community. But then, we noticed that things would start to fail. Like the hot water, or the heat, in one house at a time. Technicians came to ‘fix’ the problem, but only ever made it worse. They suggested fixes that would cost hundreds, thousands of dollars—money that my friends and family didn’t have.”

“So some of us moved. But some of us were determined to stay. The conditions continued to worsen until one day people came and announced that we _had_ to leave. We were told it was our fault: we weren’t taking care of things like we should be doing, we didn’t know how. But things had been fine before Vishkar moved in. We were doing fine.” 

Lucio’s voice wavered, and he took a long breath to collect himself. 

“Some still refused to leave, and they were forcibly removed in the name of safety. Sometimes, the new owners of their houses were standing outside right as we were being evicted, ready to start renovations right away. An entire community, dismantled because of corporate greed, but taken apart in the name of order and progress.”

Jesse nodded. “And this is why you’ve been fighting Vishkar?”

Lucio nodded as well. “It’s not right what they’re doing. And the ones that suffer the most don’t have the ability to fight back. Well, I do now. And I’m gonna continue to do so.” 

“You’ve been vocal against the company for a long time. Ever heard anything back from them?” 

“No,” Lucio answered. “I chalked it up to them not thinking me worthwhile. But more recently, things have started happening.” 

“What kind of things?”

“In Numbani, we couldn’t get the stadium that best fit our audience, and had to settle for one half the size,” Lucio began to list. “In London, they insisted we hadn’t booked the stadium, even though we had the paperwork to support that we did. Luckily, we were able to prove it in time and the concert went on as planned. But it all felt real suspicious. Like they were trying to send a message.” 

“What message was that, if you were to guess?” Jesse asked. 

“Step off,” Lucio scowled at the Vishkar table. “Shut up.” 

Jesse hummed. “So tell us about the night in question.” 

“Things seemed to be going fine, for the first time in a while in a Vishkar controlled city, actually. Then, right as we were about to get started, right as the first beat was supposed to drop, the power cut off.” 

“Has this ever happened to you before, in all your years as a performer?”

“Never. And we’ve done some benefit concerts in some pretty remote places.” 

“Have you corresponded with Vishkar since?”

“Yeah. I called them after to ask about it. They were evasive. Said this sort of thing happened all the time.” 

“Which we proved the other day to be untrue,’ Jesse clarified. 

Lucio nodded. 

“Alright. No more questions, your honour,” Jesse said smoothly, shooting Ogundimu a glance as if daring him to bring up the sound equipment himself. His team had discussed it; if it came up, then Lucio would come clean, regardless of the consequences. Jesse took his seat, held his breath, and waited. 

Akande stalked towards the stand. “Mr. dos Santos,” he began with a serpentine smile. “Do you have any physical proof that Vishkar intentionally cut the power to your concert that evening?” 

Lucio leaned forward, unintimidated. “No.” 

Akande smirked at the gall of it. He pulled back. 

“No further questions.” 

The judge shot each lawyer a pointed look in turn. “So you are telling me that the issue which caused us to extend the trial is not actually an issue?”

Jesse shrugged. “We looked into it.” 

Ogundimu also shook his head. “It was never relevant to our side.” 

_Then why plant the idea, you son of a bitch._ Jesse smiled pleasantly, biting his tongue. 

The judge frowned, but waved for them to continue. 

It was Talon’s turn to call witnesses, and they began with Satya Vaswani. 

Akande approached her gracefully. 

“Tell us, Ms. Vaswani, how long have you been with Vishkar?”

“Almost all my life, “Satya answered. “I was adopted from a poor village in India as a young girl. Vishkar was overseeing its development, and saw my potential.” 

While it might have sounded arrogant coming from anyone else, Jesse noted that coming from Satya, the words just expressed confidence. It was just something that the woman knew to be true without a doubt in her mind. 

“What do you know of this village in which you were born? Where was it?”

“I could tell you its name, but it would not be recognized. It is of little importance,” Satya continued matter-of-factly. “What is important is that Vishkar transformed it from an area of poverty and desperation into one of stability, as it has with many areas before and many areas since.”

Akande nodded. “Tell us a bit about your own work with the company, Ms. Vaswani.” 

Jesse could see where this was going. Ogundimu was trying to establish Vaswani as an excellent character, both an example of Vishkar’s philanthropy and moral superiority, likely to pit her as a foil to Lucio. By the time the Talon lawyer had finished, he had established Satya as a saint on earth. 

“And what interactions have you had with the plaintiff, Ms. Vaswani?” Akande continued smoothly. 

Satya frowned. 

“Mr. dos Santos had approached us several times regarding our operations. He takes offense to the order that we try to establish, and ignores the good that we have done for so many people. He is combative, insulting, and crude.” 

Akande nodded. “In the public disagreements between the plaintiff and Vishkar, in your experience, who is the aggressor?”

“Always Mr. dos Santos,” Satya replied without hesitation. 

Akande nodded sympathetically. “And tell me, when he does approach, is it often with a media presence? Like today?”

“Of course it is, you dickbag, I’m _trying_ to draw attention to their tactics,” Lucio muttered.

Genji tilted his head closer to Lucio. “It’ll be alright. Jesse’s got this.” 

“Fingers crossed,” Jesse said under his breath. 

Ana shot them a glare, and they stopped whispering. 

“No further questions.” Akande nodded to the judge. Jesse made sure to walk right past him on his own way to the stand, locking eyes so that he could shoot the Talon lawyer a cordial smile. Akande scowled, and continued to make eye contact until they were too far away to do so civilly. Satya frowned at Jesse as he approached. 

“Ms. Vaswani,” Jesse began. “How knowledgeable are you regarding Vishkar’s research and development department?”

“I am closely involved with their work, as one of the main architechs.” 

“You’ll have to explain to us what that means,” Jesse smiled at her. She did not return it. 

“I use hard light technology to construct temporary structures and scaffolding that allow for the rapid pace of development in different towns and cities. The technology also has many other applications as well.” 

Jesse nodded. 

“And this is mostly the technology that Vishkar develops? Technology to do with their development projects?”

“Correct.” 

This was it. This was tricky. They were going to find out whether the anonymous tip Sombra had received was any good, but it would only work if Jesse could ask the right question to the right person. He drew a breath. 

“Can you tell us then, to the best of your knowledge, why the company has decided to expand into sound equipment?”

Satya blinked, and Jesse knew he had it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Korpal sit up. Ogundimu noticed this as well, and leaned over to whisper at the engineer fiercely. 

“I do not understand the relevance of this question,” The young woman replied coldly. 

“That’s for the judge to decide, darlin’,” Jesse turned to face the judge, who nodded to acknowledge the question should be answered. 

Satya’s eyes darted to meet Korpal’s. The lead engineer’s face was grim as their eyes met, but he continued his soft conversation with their lawyer instead of giving any other instruction. Gabe had also leaned in now, just to listen. He was frowning as well. It appeared that Vishkhar had secrets of their own that they had failed to disclose to Talon.

Given no direction, she continued. 

“It is technology meant to be used for crowd dispersal.” 

A murmur rose from the audience, loud enough to cause the judge to use her gavel. 

“Crowd dispersal?” Jesse repeated. “Can you please clarify?”

Satya’s scowl deepened. “It is meant to be used as a method for quelling dissident groups in our communities that aim to do harm.”

“So crowd control?” Jesse asked. “The equipment is being developed to suppress whoever Vishkar might define as troublesome? Dissident, as you say?”

The murmur rose again. 

“Vishkar realizes this is out of their jurisdiction?” Jesse pressed once the crowd had calmed. “That they’ve no right to decide this in the public spaces that they’ve created? In the neighbourhoods?” 

Satya’s lip curled, but her expression was hard to read. “Vishkar realizes that the true enemy of humanity is chaos. This is simply a measure in the name of order.”

“And where might such measures be required?” Jesse asked. “Your village?”

The unbridled wrath on Satya’s face showed Jesse he had pushed too far. “My village welcomed this order, saw it as the saving grace that it was. This equipment would only be used against those foolish enough not to accept the benefits of Vishkar’s help.” 

“Like the people on whose behalf my client speaks? Like Rio?” Jesse threw out casually. 

Satya didn’t answer, and the judge pounded away against the gavel to call for order, as the crowd continued to chatter. 

“You can see why I find this of interest. Seems like a company that thought it alright to develop equipment that would put down protest by force would be more than okay with just turning off the lights to shut someone up. It’d be small potatoes, in fact.” 

“Objection,” Ogundimu interrupted. 

Jesse held up his hands, but prepared to make his next attack at the same time. His team had realized that Vishkar was likely holding on to the technology until an opportune moment: where it would seem like suppressing the crowd would have been in the interest of the citizen’s safety, so that they could once again move in aggressively, while looking like saviors. This, however, was exactly the wrong moment for this information to come to light.

It would have been an easy thing to take down Satya along with Vishkar. Jesse recollected the young woman’s adamant defense of the company when they first met, her stout belief in the good that they were doing. Were Jesse to ask her own thoughts on whether the use of force against civilians in this way were acceptable, she would likely agree with Vishkar, and all of Ogundimu’s work to elevate her would be undone. 

Something about this memory of her stubbornness made Jesse pause, however. He regarded her closely now: her arms crossed, face twisted in an indignant sneer. It reminded him of Hanzo at his most defensive, at his most anxious. 

Jesse realized why: her entire world view was crashing down in flames around her, and everything she knew to be true was about to be judged in a public court. 

“No further questions,” he murmured before returning to his seat. 

Satya sat up even straighter, with mild surprise. 

Both sides had run out of witnesses. The judge sighed. 

“Are closing statements prepared?”

Akande and Jesse both nodded. 

“Very well then. Let’s have them now.” The judge nodded to Jesse. 

Jesse tipped the hat that wasn’t on his head before taking his place again for the closing argument. 

“Distinguished members of the jury,” Jesse began with an easy smile. “We’ve seen here a company claiming to work for the good of the people while actually working against the people. We’ve seen a company that pays lip service to ideals like order and harmony, while at the same time sowing disorder behind the scenes—a company so committed to its own cause, whatever that might *actually* be, that it thinks it can justify developing technology to subdue the citizens of this city in the name of progress. Now I ask you, is that really what this is? Progress? Because it _seems_ like repression. It _seems_ like a method of silencing, through using physical violence. And if Vishkar is willing to go so far to silence, to control, then what is it to them to cut the power to a concert of someone they’ve identified as a dissident? As an undesirable?”

“How many of these minor coincidences that Mr. dos Santos has encountered need to knit together before they stop being coincidences and start being a pattern? I’d like to suggest we’re past that point. Left it in the pasture miles ago. So then it comes down to you, distinguished members of the jury, to put a stop to this by legal means. What lesson do we want Vishkar to walk away with today? That they can bully, buy, bluster their way through what they call separate, unrelated incidents? Or, as my client would suggest, that they don’t have the right over people’s words and actions—that they don’t have the right to dictate people’s lives?”

“We’re all adults here, so we all know the truth about people: it’s not black and white, hero and villain. We are, however, defined by what we do, defined by our intentions. And sometimes, that takes work for others to figure out.” Akande was observing him with curiosity. Jesse realized belatedly that he was only able to see this because he himself was staring at Ogundimu. 

“And that’s okay, because we’re the sum of our actions, and nobody’s perfect.” Jesse’s eyes slid to meet Hanzo’s. “As long as you’re tryin’ to do good, to make amends, to create positive change. Mr. dos Santos has devoted his life to this cause. The question you gotta consider now, distinguished members of the jury, does Vishkar want this positive change, or does it want profit? Control? And if it’s the latter, are we gonna let them?” 

He motioned again to tip the hat that was not on his head before taking his seat. The judge nodded at Akande, and the Talon lawyer. The entire room turned its attention as Ogundimu took his place at the front of the court. His eyes flashed with steeled determination. 

“Distinguished members of the jury,” Ogundimu began. “The matter here is simple. We are here to decide whether the power to the plaintiff’s concert on the evening of September 23 was intentionally cut, with malicious intent.” 

“As I cautioned you earlier, we have seen the plaintiff’s counsel reference ethics and morals, which, while important tenets to our society, are not on trial. Regardless of your thoughts about Vishkar’s practices, we are here simply to decide whether or not they are guilty of interrupting the plaintiff’s concert.” Akande paced the room like he owned it, each step full of confidence and force. 

“The prosecution’s case is one built on smoke and mirrors, a chain of hypotheticals that do not stand up to interrogation by fact or reason. The truth of the matter is that this sound equipment, while developed, was never used. Any connection between my clients and Mr. dos Santos’ events is unsubstantiated. We have instead seen proof of Vikshar’s good works and Mr. dos Santos’ antagonism despite these good works. One might consider his reaction to the company, and once again, whether he might be the one who benefits most of all from this slander.”

From his seat, Lucio bared his teeth, but said nothing. 

“The decision is simple. Did Vishkar sabotage the concert on the evening of September 23? Everything else is complication that has been fabricated to confuse this task, so that an entertainer can keep his brand. I ask that you keep this in mind when making your conclusions today.” 

Akande bowed slightly, and took his seat. 

The judge called for the decision. The murmur in the crowd rose again as soon as she hit her gavel to signal the recess. Jesse breathed a long sigh of relief for the break. 

“Nicely done, Jesse,’ Ana smiled. “You handled it well.” 

“Yeah, man, thanks! We might even have a chance here,” Lucio added with a wide grin.

“Naw, it’s not over yet,” Jesse waved off the praise. I’m real proud of us though. Managed to turn this one around.” 

“I’ll be prouder of you when you win,” Jack grunted from the bench behind their table. 

Ana rolled her eyes. The rest of the team exchanged a grin. 

Jesse noticed that everyone was inching away from him, but didn’t figure out why until he felt a hand press gently on his arm. Jesse spun to find Hanzo smiling behind him. The tension that he didn’t realize was in his shoulders melted away. 

“Honeybee!”

He nearly jumped forward to kiss the man on the cheek before realizing how inappropriate it would look. Hanzo read the conflict on his face, and squeezed his arm with affection. Jesse beamed. 

“You _did_ do well,” Hanzo confirmed. “Regardless of the outcome.” 

“Thanks darlin’. It means a lot comin’ from you.” 

“Rude,” Genji called from the other end of the table. 

Jesse rolled his eyes and ignored him. 

“It was kind of you not to go after Vaswani,” Hanzo said. 

Jesse shrugged. “No point, really. We already had them. Also seems like the type to take it upon herself regardless if she were at fault or not, and it ain’t right to make her think that way.” 

The smallest smile bloomed across Hanzo’s features. Jesse guessed that Hanzo must have recognized the similarities in their situations as well. “How are you feeling?”

“As good as can be,” Jesse shrugged. “Better once they come to a decision, naturally.” 

“Of course,’ Hanzo nodded. His eyes slid over to Talon’s table, where both Gabe and Akande were observing them with interest. “Would you excuse me?”

“Only ‘cause you’re comin’ back,” Jesse teased. 

Hanzo huffed. 

Jesse grinned and bit back the snide comment he had prepared as Hanzo made his was to Talon’s table. He accepted that if this was going to work, he’d have to accept that Hanzo and Akande seemed happy enough to remain friends. He trusted Hanzo, and that was all that mattered. 

The jury reentered, and the judge called court back to order. Everyone took their seats with anticipation. 

“Jury, do you have a verdict?”

“Yes, your honour,” the representative said. “We find the defendants…”

Jesse could feel the room take a long breath as she paused for just a second. 

“Guilty.” 

The cheer rippled through the entire audience. Lucio slapped Jesse hard on the back, and Genji punched him on the shoulder. Jesse sighed with relief, his eyes of course looking instantly to find Hanzo. 

Hanzo was smiling—no—beaming at him, his eyes shining with pride. Jesse’s gaze slid to Talon’s table. Gabe gave him a lopsided grin, one that McCree had seen many times in the past that offered silent praise. He didn’t realize how much he had missed this exchange with his former mentor until he saw it again. Ogundimu was frowning at Jesse, but offered just the slightest nod. Jesse returned it.

Jesse barely remembered the rest of the trial—it felt as though he wasn’t even in the room. When court adjourned, Hanzo made his way to their table immediately to congratulate the team, never breaking eye contact with Jesse until he arrived by his side. 

Before Jesse could greet him, Hanzo launched himself to lock Jesse in an open-mouthed kiss, throwing his arms around Jesse’s neck to hold him in place. 

Jesse hummed in surprised, never having seen Hanzo so affectionate in public before. 

The wolf whistle seemed to remind Hanzo of where he was, and he pulled away hastily to find Genji grinning at them. 

“Aww, Genji, it was just getting good,’ Jesse complained. 

“I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to get it good after dinner,” Genji smirked.

Hanzo turned bright red, and Genji had the decency to look a bit disgusted at his own comment, and back pedaled. 

He gently placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder, and said something in Japanese. Hanzo nodded, although the flush did not fade. 

Genji smiled and shot Jesse a salute before walking away.

“What did the little shit have to say?” Jesse asked. 

“That he was proud of me.” Hanzo spoke his answer to the floor. 

“I am too, sweetheart.” 

Hanzo blinked up at him. “I believe that is what I should be saying to you.” 

“Aww, honeybee,’ Jesse blushed. 

“Come,” Ana was standing a distance away to give them their privacy, but raised her voice so that they could hear. “Dinner to celebrate. Jack’s paying.” 

The team cheered, and Morrison didn’t even grumble that loudly on their way out of the courtroom. Jesse and Hanzo walked hand in hand, both feeling the distinct feeling that for one moment, everything was right in the world.

\--- 

**::THREE MONTHS LATER** :: 

It was another hectic, overworked, understaffed day at Shimada & Reyes, and Gabe would have it no other way.

“Mr Reyes,” Mei peeked into his office, apologizing for interrupted his chat with his partner as they vented about another hell of a week. “I’ve cancelled your 5:30, as requested!”

“Thanks Mei. You can call me Gabe,” He reminded her. 

“Yes, Mr. Reyes!” Mei chirped. 

Gabe gave Hanzo a pained look as the young woman shuffled back to her desk. 

Hanzo snorted. 

“She is an excellent researcher. Better than Lena, perhaps.” 

“I’ve no doubt. You got good judgement. Wait.” Gabe stood. “I didn’t tell her to cancel my 5:30…”

“You’re right, I did,” Hanzo said. “You’re coming with me to dinner.” 

“Dinner?” Gabe raised an eyebrow. 

“To celebrate. We’ve survived a month without going bankrupt,” Hanzo replied with a wry smile. 

Gabe barked a laugh. “Be fair, Shimada. It’s not like we started with nothing, and the phone started ringing the minute we turned the electricity on. But alright, where do you wanna—” 

The door to his office swung open without warning before he could finish, and Jesse and Genji sauntered in. 

“Hi boss!” Genji greeted him with a sunny grin. Jesse tipped his hat. 

Gabe blinked. 

“We are celebrating,” Hanzo said, after standing to accept a kiss from Jesse. “What better way to do so than with family?” 

“Morrison will shit a brick,” Reyes protested.

Jesse rolled his eyes. “He’s still talkin’ to my sweetheart, so he can accept that we’re still good too.” 

“We’re still good, right?” Genji chimed in, slapping Reyes on the shoulder. 

Reyes opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. 

Jesse, as always, knew him best. 

“Come on, pack it up already, we’re gonna lose our reservation,” he urged. 

Gabe nodded, grateful for the chance to turn around and collect himself while gathering his things. 

“You did tell me, did you not?” Hanzo’s voice was soft at his side. 

“What?” Reyes huffed. 

“That I would be okay. And I promised you the same.” 

Gabe laughed, rubbing at his face just in case his eyes were visibly damp. 

“Thanks.” 

Hanzo waved it off. 

“What is family for?” He returned with mirth. 

Gabe was about to reply, when Jesse and Genji each threw an arm around either side of him, nearly pulling him to the ground. 

“Fuck, you little shits…” Reyes threatened. 

“Language!” Genji and Jesse answered simultaneously. 

Genji laughed and took off running. Jesse grabbed Hanzo’s hand and followed. Gabe was close behind.

**Author's Note:**

>  **Edit:** Omano has created such beautiful work based on this story!! [Please go have a look and send your love!!!](http://omaano.tumblr.com/post/169286900533/it-is-on-me-to-believe-you-to-believe-i-am)  
>  Come chat with me on [Tumblr!](https://fireflyquill.tumblr.com/)


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